Beyond Heaven and Earth: The Substitute
by Akatsuki Leader13
Summary: Book One. AU. It all began that night. A single act change his life...and theirs forever. The worlds of humans, souls, Shinigami, hollows and so much more now lay before them.
1. Prologue

Yo everybody! Back with a brand new story. Seems like I'm up with a new one every six to seven months. Well truthfully this idea in particular I've had for years it's just that I have refined and combined with a few other Bleach ideas I've had bouncing around in mind. And I was recently inspired by the amazing story 'He Wasn't Late' by Artemis Goldborough. I highly recommend it to all Bleach fans out there. Basically its what if Ichigo never got the chance to talk to Rukia that night, never got her powers but saw her kill the hollow and became involved in the events that followed. Just that idea alone is something truly unique and special, coupled with a very talented writer this is a must read for Bleach fans.

As to my Gundam SEED Rewrite that I was fixing up and redoing, I'm sorry to say that I've become stalled on it. Over two months ago when I was working on it a close family passed away and I just haven't been able to get back into yet. At the moment I don't know when I'll get back to it. Which is partly why I've decided to start something brand new.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, only any OCs that appear.

* * *

_"Do you wish to save your family?"_

_The words of the Shinigami seemed to echo through his head as Ichigo Kurosaki glanced around. The masked creature—the hollow had caused so much damage in its rampage. It had taken a chunk out of his family's house and inside laid Yuzu and his father, both injured and unconscious. Nearby was Karin, lying in the same state as the rest of his family. Finally there was the dark haired Shinigami, propped up against a streetlight as blood poured from her wounds. All caused because this vicious monster was after _him_, not the spirits that tended to follow him around, not the Shinigami that showed up tonight. It had all been his fault! "Of course!" he shouted, eager to set things right. "Tell me how!"_

"_I can give you a portion of my powers and you can use that to defeat the hollow," the Shinigami explained._

"_How?"_

"_You must take my zanpakutō," she grimly replied, holding up her sword. "Take it and stab it into your heart."_

_Ichigo froze in shock. Stab himself in the heart? Wouldn't that kill him? How was that supposed to give him some of her power? "It's the only way," the Shinigami insisted, sensing his hesitant._

_She was right. With her wounds she wouldn't be able to fight the hollow. He was the only one that could do something. Ichigo reached out and grabbed the sword, careful not to cut himself on the blade. "Alright Shinigami," he said, his eyes burning with determination. "Let's do it."_

_A slight smile spread across the Shinigami's face. "Rukia. My name is Rukia Kuchiki."_

_Ichigo returned the grin. "I'm Ichigo Kurosaki," he replied before thrusting the blade into his chest._

_The instant the blade pierced his skin a blinding light consuming his vision. After a moment the light faded and Ichigo found himself holding the largest sword he had ever seen in his life. Yet despite its size the weapon was light, he could easily wield it with one hand. Strapped to his back by a leather belt and bandolier was its equally large sheath. On the bronze belt buckle was the image of a black skull. His forearms were covered in black armbands with white trim and the same skull design as the buckle. But it wasn't just the sword. His body felt stronger, faster and more energetic. He couldn't even feel the pain from the few scraps and cuts he had received from the hollow._

_This hollow wouldn't stand a chance against him._

_A bellowing howl filled the night air drawing Ichigo's attention back to what matter right now. The fish-faced hollow started changing charging towards him, its arms up in air. "Come on you ugly bastard!" he shouted, lifting his sword up._

_The hollow was fast but he was faster, slicing off its right forearm before it could touch him. Staggering back a step the hollow roared in pain and fury, flailing its remaining arm wildly at him. Ichigo stabbed his sword in the wrist of the descending limb and started pulling back, cutting through its giant hand. He couldn't help but grin as the hollow stumbled back. With a wide horizontal swing he took out its shins, sending the masked beast falling forward._

"_This is for attacking my family you fish-faced freak!" Ichigo roared, slamming the sword down through the falling hollow's head and body…_

* * *

Ichigo Kurosaki sighed as he hit another ball with his bat, sick already of Rukia's 'training'. A quick glance confirmed what he already knew. Rukia who had claimed was going to be supervising his training had become completely engrossed in that lame old book she had drug up. He could probably walk off, buy a snack and come back twenty minutes later without Rukia noticing anything. Besides it wasn't like there was any real point to this training. He was just hitting balls with more of Rukia's crude pictures. How was that suppose to help with killing hollows? For someone that was supposed be knowledgeable on fighting hollows her training sucked.

He shouldered the bat and stepped out of the pitching machine's firing zone, watching the pint-sized girl read. It was hard to believe that had been just four days since that night when his whole life had changed. He had already known of ghosts before simply because he had always been able to see them but hollows and Shinigami had been new. But it was strange that he had never seen either the black robed death gods or the masked monsters they fought before that day.

It hadn't ended that night either as he found out later the next day that Rukia had given him too much of her power, leaving her temporarily powerless. So he was now carrying out her Shinigami duties for her while she stuck in a fake body, possessing as normal high school girl. All and all it actually wasn't too bad. He kind of liked helping to send souls to afterlife and protecting Karakura's inhabitants, both living and dead from hollows made him feel a little bit like a superhero. Not that he would admit the later out loud.

However his new double life as a Substitute Shinigami was not without its drawbacks. The first being that unlike a full Shinigami he had a body of flesh and blood which meant that while he could use their powers and manifest the Shinigami's weapon, a zanpakutō he was completely visible anyone and everyone. It made things harder as he couldn't let himself be seen by people otherwise he'd look like a weirdo flailing against nothing with a sword they couldn't see. The last thing he thing he needed for people to see him and think he was crazy. Rukia had said that she was trying to get something that would make him invisible to ordinary people like spirits were. But when he asked when he was actually going to get it all she did was grumble about some lazy ass shopkeeper.

Then there was the fact that both he and Rukia had been dropping in and out of class at least once or twice a day. If this kept up his grades were going to suffer. At least no one seemed to notice that they were always leaving together. He could picture what Keigo and just about every girl in class would start saying about what him and his 'girlfriend' were doing when they left the classroom. It didn't matter if it wasn't true; he couldn't exactly tell them the truth. Not that they would believe him anyway. Either way whether they saw him as crazy or screwing around with the new girl it would destroy his reputation.

Suddenly a ball struck the side of his head. "Ow! What the hell?" Ichigo cursed, turning to the source of the ball.

Rukia had put down her book and glaring at him with a look of annoyance. "Hey slacker!" he shouted. "Get back to training!"

"How does whacking balls train me to fight hollows?" he shot back, just as annoyed as her.

The Shinigami only response was to throw more balls at him, forcing Ichigo to frantically hit or dodge them all as they came at him. She was pretty good but not quite as good as him. He had been dodging the blows of thugs for years now. A bunch of softballs were nothing. With a smirk he sent the last ball flying back at Rukia's head, narrowly missing her head. "What did you do that for?" she screamed. "You could have hit me!"

"You hit me!" Ichigo yelled, a vein twitching in his forehead.

"Because you were slacking off! You have important duties to perform so you need to train to keep yourself in top physical shape!"

Ichigo shook his head vigorously. "And how does whacking these balls help me train?" he argued. "I thought this was training to kill hollows, not softball!"

"It's called sword training you idiot!" Rukia shot back. "You need to be able to hit hollows quickly and accurately."

"So then why the pitching machine?" Ichigo asked, pointing the bat at the machine.

"Because there wasn't anything else I could use for it," Rukia disdainfully replied. "It's not my fault your world doesn't use swords anymore."

The two of them continued to bicker and argue; all the while unaware of what was coming, unaware of the path stretching out before them…

* * *

And so ends the prologue and already there's a change to it. Ichigo isn't the same as he was. Two things really inspired it, the first being when Ichigo briefly became a Fullbringer and the second was a picture on Deviantart called 'Karakura Squad' by an artist called LightSeeker. Like its name implies it has the whole Karakura gang, Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, Uryu, Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro. But Ichigo is in normal street clothes with Zangetsu strapped to his back and I was struck by how much better that looked than his normal Shinigami attire

So I decided recently with this story idea to change up what it means to be a Substitute Shinigami which I'll explain in detail in the next chapter.

Now I'm gonna tell you all of the changes I'm making to the plot but I am gonna tell you this much, I'm blending in more supernatural elements into the universe. The Bount will be present (and that means their arc will be added) but I'm reworking their nature a bit, making them a bit more like the vampires they're inspired by while at the same time keeping them in the frame of the Bleach universe. Similarly other supernatural beings will be present. What those beings will be I leave for you to guess at.

Oh and yes Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro as well as other supporting human characters will play a larger roll in the plot. Again it's something that you're gonna have to wait and see.

The title 'Beyond Heaven and Earth' is taken from the phrase 'There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamed of in your philosophy'. It felt fitting for this story. And like the Book One moniker says this is the first of six books, each revolving around one of the Arcs, the Substitute Shinigami Arc, the Soul Society Arc, the Bount Arc, the Arrancar Arc, Hueco Mundo Arc and the Fake Karakura/Final Battle Arc. Beyond that I'm not sure at the moment nor am I even thinking that far ahead. Though I have some early ideas on what I could do.


	2. Chapter 1

Yo everybody! Back with the first chapter of Beyond Heaven and Earth. Oh and a special thanks to my first two reviewers, Ultimate Black Ace and Aletheya. You guys (or girls) helped drive me to get this chapter done.

Also I was asked about pairings. I'm not a big romance writer so at the moment I have no plans for pairings. That _could_ change as I progress but if it does it will fairly minor to the overall plot.

Anyway onward and upward. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it.

* * *

Tatsuki Arisawa couldn't help but shake her head at her friend, Orihime Inoue's antics. Once again Orihime had slipped into one of her ever-changing fantasy worlds. To the casual observer Orihime may seem like a ditzy airhead but Tatsuki knew Orihime was far smarter than she seemed, a bit ditzy but smart. Now if only she'd work up the courage to ask Ichigo out rather than just fantasize about asking him out.

A strange groaning sound filled the air as the small apartment shuttered for an instant, drawing both girls from their thoughts. As soon as the shuttered stopped Orihime's old teddy bear fell from its spot on her shelf. "Oh no! Enraku fell down!" Orihime exclaimed, rushing to her fallen stuffed animal.

For a moment Tatsuki stared at the walls, an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. It felt like something within her was screaming 'danger' but danger from what? Whatever caused the noise and the tremor? "Is this blood?" Orihime asked out loud, drawing her attention.

But the second after those words left her mouth Orihime was thrown back, lifelessly hitting the floor. "Orihime!" Tatsuki shouted, fear and horror filling her breast.

An invisible force slammed into her, throwing her across the room. Tatsuki crashed into the wall and collapsed to the floor, pain lancing through her left shoulder. Eyes wide with fear she scanned the room, looking for some sign of what had thrown her and cut her shoulder up but there was nothing. There weren't even any sounds in the apartment beyond her breathing. The force hit her again, wrapping around her neck and shoulders. It roughly dragged her across the floor, crushing the breath out of her. Her left arm was pinned beneath the force while she frantically beat her other arm against it in a desperate attempt to free herself but it was useless. She couldn't even breathe under the pressure pinning.

'_I'm…I'm going to die…'_ she realized as she flailed and gasped for breath, for life.

Suddenly it happened…

Her heart started racing, beating a hundred—no a thousand times faster. It was so intense that it felt like it was going to burst from her chest. Fire spread from her heart through her veins. Her body began to tremble beneath the invisible force pinning her to the floor. The pressure was growing tighter and tighter on her. Something deep within her was screaming—howling to get out.

Tatsuki reached out with her free arm and grabbed the force holding her while her pinned left arm thrashed against it. She knew there was no possible way that she could actually move the massive force but that didn't matter at that moment. She _needed_ to be free. That was all that mattered.

The weight upon her started to lessen, allowing her to breathe again and freeing her other arm. With her arm free she could now use them both against her invisible attacker. Her arms strained against the force, slowly pushing it off her more and more while her own physical strength impossibly increased with every inch. But that wasn't all that was happening. Before her eyes something began to take shape. It was translucent at first, barely visible before her eyes but it quickly began to darken and turn solid becoming a dark blur.

Screaming at the top of her lungs Tatsuki somehow threw the dark shape off of her, slamming it against the far wall. Had she been thinking clearly at the time she would have wondered how she could have possibly done that but that didn't matter now.

'_That thing…must die…'_

She stood up to one knee, gasping for breath as she watched the blur gather itself up. That's when she saw them, her nails. They had turned black and elongated into claws. And it wasn't just her fingers; her toenails had changed as well, tearing through her socks. "What…" she muttered; dumbstruck at what was happening to her.

That's when the pain started and all she could do was scream…

* * *

Ichigo jumped from rooftop to rooftop, rushing across town with Rukia perched on his back. The night sky obscured their movements though it wasn't like Ichigo really cared about being seen at the moment, not when the life of his classmate Orihime Inoue was in danger. A hollow was after her, one that had tried to kill him a short while ago to get to her. Now that it had failed it would only be a matter of time before the hollow came after her too. But that wasn't even the worst of it. The hollow was Orihime's brother, Sora. His spirit had remained on Earth for too long, his soul corrupting into a hollow. And as a hollow all Sora wanted to do was devour Orihime and everyone close to her.

Finally they reached Orihime's apartment but as they neared it a heavy spiritual pressure erupted from the apartment. It could only be Sora. He was going to kill Orihime! "He's there Ichigo," Rukia quietly said.

Ichigo nodded his head. "Yeah. You better-"

Suddenly the wall of Orihime's apartment exploded as the hollow that had been her brother flew through it. The masked creature crashed into the empty street below, blood pouring from several sets of claw marks on his body. But it seemed the wounds didn't even affect Sora as he quickly rose back up, staring up at the hole in the wall. He let out a roaring howl which to Ichigo's surprise was met with another different roar.

Ichigo's eyes darted up to hole. Standing there was…_something_. The creature stood hunched over on two animal-like legs, its toes tipped with razor sharp claws and a tail swaying behind it. Even standing straight up it wasn't as tall as him though it was close. It was however broader and more muscled, covered head to toe in black fur with the tattered remnants of clothing clinging to it. The creature's head was akin to a wolf's with two yellow eyes filled with animalistic fury, focused entirely upon the hollow.

"A Jinmenjūshin?" Rukia exclaimed, just as a surprised as he was.

The substitute Shinigami blinked his eyes in confusion. "A Jin-what?"

At that moment the wolf-creature leaped down from the hole, lunging at Sora who swung his own claws at it. Both hit the other, drawing blood and knocking them back. However that did little to slow either of them down and an instant later they were on each other again, attacking with fangs and claws. For a moment all Ichigo could do was watch the two fight.

Sora craned his head back, spitting up a gob of something at the wolf. The wad of saliva struck the beast's left shoulder, burning its skin and fur like acid. Letting out a pained howl, the beast staggered back for a moment. But it didn't stop the wolf for long as it lunged at Sora again, its claws slashing across his upper body while its tooth-filled jaws clamped down on part of his mask. The hollow screamed an ear-piercing, pain-filled wail as he tore the wolf of him and slammed it into a car. Also instantly after Sora had thrown the beast he started to scream and howl, clutching his broken mask as he writhed in agony.

"Ichigo, listen to me carefully," Rukia said quietly, drawing his attention from the fight. "Do not draw your sword. In that state a Jinmenjūshin will attack anything it perceives as a threat starting with the most powerful. If you draw your sword it might turn its attention to you."

The substitute Shinigami nodded his head in agreement. That Jinmenjūshin thing was… it wasn't like Sora. Yes it was a vicious looking creature but it didn't seem to have the air of malice that hollows seemed to have. If anything it reminded him of a frightened animal backed into a corner and fighting for its life.

"Come on, we should check on Orihime while they're busy," the Shinigami added.

Ichigo nodded his head. "Right."

With Rukia still on his back he headed for the hole in the apartment wall, the battle playing out below them. The main room of the apartment was a bit of a mess, a shelf knocked over, its contents strewn around it, a loose pile of shredded clothing laid scattered on ground, claw marks marring both the walls and floor. And sitting there amid the mess was Orihime, her watering eyes wide with fear. But there was another Orihime lying unconscious nearby, a chain connecting the two of them together. He had seen that chain before, attached to the dead. Was he too late? Was Orihime dead?

As he approached her Rukia climbed off her back and Orihime's eyes focused on him. "I-Ichigo?" she stuttered in confusion.

"Rukia, that chain," he said, pointing to it. "Does that mean that she's…"

Ichigo hesitated, unable to voice the word while standing in front of her.

Rukia shook her head. "No. Her Chain of Fate is still intact," she replied. "As long as that chain is unbroken she's alive and I can heal her."

The Substitute Shinigami breathed a sigh of relief. To have classmate, and a close friend of Tatsuki die because he hadn't been fast enough…it would have _that_ day all over again. Kneeling down Ichigo offered her a hand up. "Are you alright Orihime?" he asked as he helped her up to her feet.

A slight smile crossed her lips but her eyes were still a mixture of worry and fear. "I'm fine Ichigo," she answered. "But Tatsuki…"

Her lips trembled as though she was afraid to say it.

Ichigo blinked. "Huh? Tatsuki? She's here?"

The girl vigorously nodded her head, tears threatening to spill out from her eyes. "That thing attacked her and she…and she…"

"She's the Jinmenjūshin," Rukia announced.

For a moment Ichigo just stared at her like she had grown a second head. Then the realization dawned on him. The shredded clothing on the floor and on the Jinmenjūshin, he recognized them. They belonged to Tatsuki! But how could she be that creature? "That was Tatsuki?" he exclaimed.

Rukia nodded her head, her arms crossing her chest. "Yes. Though for a moment when I saw the Jinmenjūshin I thought it was Orihime. But then I realized it didn't have her long hair.

"Ah…excuse me but what is a Jinmenjūshin?" Orihime asked, looking nervous to join the conversation. "And how can Tatsuki be one?"

"Well from what I was taught the only way to become a Jinmenjūshin is to inherit it," the dark haired Shinigami explained. "She was born one so she must have-"

"**Orihime is mine!** **I won't let take her from me!**" Sora roared as he started to climb through the hole in the apartment, his soaked with blood from various wounds on his body.

Ichigo cursed as he drew his sword. The room was too small. Fighting here would only endanger Orihime further. He'd have to get him back outside. "You want Orihime? Well you're going to have to go after me first!" he shouted.

Sora reared up as high as the ceiling would permit, opening his mouth to roar or spew out more acid when a black blur brushed against his head. The right cheek of his mask exploded. Screaming and clutching his masked face Sora fell backwards through the hole as the wolf—Tatsuki landed before them. Tatsuki didn't look any better than Sora, acid burns, bloody teeth and claw marks covered her body while her breaths were deep and labored. Yet despite the troll upon her body, the fire and fury in her animal eyes remained undiminished.

And those yellow eyes were now focused entirely upon him.

The wolf snarled at him as it took a step forward and Rukia's words replayed in his mind, _"Do not draw your sword. In that state a Jinmenjūshin will attack anything it perceives as a threat starting with the most powerful. If you draw your sword it might turn its attention to you."_

Ichigo's eyes widened as the horror of the situation dawned on him. She was going to attack him! But he could fight her, even in this state. She was his oldest friend. How could he possible raise his sword against her? "Tatsuki," he called out, hoping to reach her somehow. "I don't what to fight you."

"Don't bother Ichigo!" Rukia yelled out to him as she attempted to shelter Orihime. "At this point she's running solely on animal instinct. She won't stop until there's nothing left for her fight, she runs out of energy or she's killed."

As if on cue Tatsuki roared and leaped at him, her claws and fangs ready to tear him apart. Ichigo managed bring his sword up to protect himself. Tatsuki slammed into him with the force of a speeding truck, throwing him off his feet. He crashed on the ground with Tatsuki on top of him, his sword the only thing separating them. Tooth-filled jaws snapped at his face as arms that were far stronger than they should be were pushing down on his sword and body with crushing force. Ichigo fought back, kicking at her with all his strength. It took a few shots but he managed to knock her off, allowing him to quickly get back up to his feet.

Claws slashed across Ichigo's left cheek followed by the other hand. But Ichigo was faster, slapping her arm away with his sword. Tatsuki snapped him with her jaws, clamping down on his left wrist but her teeth couldn't pierce armored band. However the pressure on his arm was still starting to hurt. He drove the butt of his weapon into Tatsuki's head, causing her grip to loose and he continued up with a punch. Tatsuki took the blow like it was nothing, snarled and backhanded in him return.

Ichigo staggered back from the blow, wondering just how strong Tatsuki had become. Without a doubt Tatsuki had been one of the toughest girls in town but this was a whole other level of strength. Tatsuki howled and lunged at him again but this time Ichigo was ready for her. Gripping his sword with both hands he swung, striking her with the side of the blade. Like a softball hit by a bat Tatsuki flew back, slamming into a shelf. "I know you're still in there Tatsuki," Ichigo called out as she slowly started to rise. "I know you don't want to hurt us. Please stop."

A moment that seemed like eternity passed, Tatsuki stood there on one knee, her black fur matted with blood, her head down and breathing heavily but she made no move to attack. Breathing a sigh of relief Ichigo lowered his weapon. She had to be running out of steam. If Rukia was right then she wouldn't be a threat anymore which was good as he wasn't sure anymore if he could actually take her in that state.

Suddenly Tatsuki's head shot up and roared. She took off again, claws raised to slice through him. Ichigo cursed as he raised his sword up again. What was it going to take to stop her?

"No Tatsuki! Don't hurt him!" Orihime shouted, putting herself between the two of them.

Ichigo froze his eyes wide in shock. Tatsuki would slice through Orihime like a knife through butter and she would never forgive herself for it. He couldn't let her do this. The Substitute Shinigami reached out to pull the girl out of the way but to everyone's surprise the wolf creature stopped in her tracks, her arm wavering maybe half a foot from Orihime. Her body trembled but Tatsuki didn't move any closer towards Orihime. For an instant Ichigo could have sworn he saw Tatsuki's yellow eyes flash back to original brown. Tatsuki's outstretched hand began to drop. "I don't believe it," Rukia uttered in disbelief. "How did she stop her?"

"**DIE!**"

A clawed hand tore through Tatsuki's chest. For a moment no one moved, their eyes focused on Tatsuki as she shuttered and coughed up blood. Behind her was Sora was glaring at her with nothing but hatred. With a violent jerk he pulled his arm from her body and Tatsuki collapsed into a heap on the floor. "Tatsuki!" Orihime screamed, dropping down to their injured friend.

Ichigo roared in anger, swinging his sword at the hollow but Sora was faster, spitting out more acid. He screamed in pain as the acid struck and burned his hands, causing him to drop his sword. Before he could react Sora's tail slammed into his chest, throwing him against the wall. Ichigo let out a groan as he clutched his ribs. He was fairly certain that a couple had been bruised by that blow but he had experienced worse.

Unexpectedly however Sora didn't press his attack. Instead he turned his attention to Orihime and Tatsuki. But Orihime didn't notice in the slightest, her entire attention focused on Tatsuki. She still was trying to help their friend, her hands pressed against Tatsuki's chest wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. "**How can you still care about her?**" he screamed at her. "**She tried to kill you!**"

"She couldn't control herself. Tatsuki would never intentionally hurt me," Orihime calmly answered, still trying to help their friend. "And she stopped herself from hurting me." She turned to the fallen soul, a look of fiery determination in her eyes. "I won't let you hurt her."

The serpentine hollow started to shutter and tremble with rage. "**Why? Why? WHY?**" he screamed and howled. "**Why are you choosing that monster over **_**me**_**, your own brother?**"

Orihime faltered for moment. "Brother?" She vigorously shook her head in denial. "No! You're not Sora!"

The large hollow reached down and scooped her up in his hands. "**Don't you recognize my voice Orihime?**" he asked, bringing her up his masked face.

"No…" Orihime weakly uttered, the familiarity of the voice dawning on her. Tears rolled down her face. "Why…why Sora? Why are you hurting my friends?"

"**Because they tried to you away from me,**" Sora snarled in anger and disgust. "**After I died you prayed to me every day. Watching you made me happy…it brought me peace. But then a year passed and you became friends with **_**that **_**girl. You started praying less and less. Then you entered high school and met Ichigo Kurosaki. After that you stopped praying altogether!**" His grip tightened on her, his anger building. "**Instead of prayers you did nothing but talk about them! I was fading more and more from your heart every day! Do you have any idea what that was like? The pain was unbearable!**"

"Sora…I…" Orihime gasped, struggling for breath. "You're wrong…"

Orihime let out a pained shriek as Sora started squeezing tighter and tighter on her. "It's _your_ fault I'm like this! You abandoned me!" he raved. "I gave you everything and this is how you repay me? I'll kill you!"

An instant later blood burst from his right wrist. His hand came cleanly off, Orihime still in its grip. "Do you know why big brothers are born first?" Ichigo asked, shouldering his bloody sword a look of cold determination in his eyes. "To protect their little brothers and sisters!"

As an older brother himself it was despicable to see an older sibling threaten the life of a younger sibling. Even though he could forgive him because of his current hollow state it still brought a cold fury to his heart. Sora had tried to kill him, he had hurt Tatsuki but to see him trying to squeeze the life out of his sister was too much. "What kind of brother would try to kill his own sister?" he roared, slashing at him.

"**She's mine!**" the hollow screamed back, his tail flailing at him. "**I took her from our abusive parents, I raised her, I cared for her and I protected her! She's **_**mine**_**!**"

The tail came down on his head but Ichigo was faster, hacking the tip and about a foot of the tail off. However Sora seemed completely unaffected by the wound. "**She'll never be yours Ichigo Kurosaki!**" he roared, lunging at him with his massive jaws.

"You idiot!" Ichigo shouted, jamming his blade into Sora's maw, blocking the attack. "Orihime doesn't belong to anyone!"

The teen pushed the hollow back, dislodging the blade from its large teeth. Sora reared up, swinging his remaining clawed hand at him. He managed to grab Ichigo's blade. Ichigo fought back against him but his grip was too strong to free his sword. Sora looked upon him with nothing but hatred. "**NO! She's mine! I lived for her!**" he ranted. "**If** **she can't live for me then she…**" Sora's head turned, gazing upon Orihime. "**Then she can die for me!**"

Sora took off, racing for Orihime. Ichigo swung his sword as his moving form but the hollow was too fast and all he hit was air. He cursed and tried to chase after him but it was too late. Sora's maw clamped down on the teen. But Orihime didn't scream or cry as his teeth drew blood. Instead her arms wrapped around her brother's masked head, embracing him in a hug. "**Ori…Orihime…**" he uttered his voice stunned and horrified.

"I'm sorry Sora. I never meant to hurt you," Orihime said, tears in her eyes. "I didn't want you to see my sadness. So I hid it from you and shared my happiness with you. I didn't know it would hurt you Sora. I'm sorry…I love…you…"

Orihime's body went limp and she fell from Sora's mouth, collapsing to the ground. Her brother backed away from her, a look of utter despair and horror etched upon his mask. "Orihime!" Ichigo called out, rushing to the injured teen.

The wounds were bad. Sora's teeth had cut through her left shoulder and abdomen, blood pooling on the floor around her. If her soul was wounded what did that mean for Orihime? What affect would it have on her? Was she going to die?

"Don't worry Ichigo," Rukia reassured as she rose from Tatsuki's side.

In all that had happened he hadn't even noticed that Rukia had been healing Tatsuki or that she had reverted back to her human form. Ichigo's face immediately turned red as he looked at his childhood friend, her shredded clothes barely covering anything at all. He quickly turned around, praying that Tatsuki never found out about that.

"Her Chain of Fate is still intact," Rukia continued as she approached Orihime. "As I said before as long it's intact I can heal her with Kidō."

The Shinigami knelt down next to Orihime, placing her hands on the wounds. A golden glow spread across her hands before moving onto Orihime's injuries. A stepping back from them Ichigo shouldered his blade, glancing over at Sora. The hollow was slumped in a corner, his hand on his face, his eyes staring at Orihime with tears of blood trailing down his mask. He looked absolutely pitiful. It was hard to believe that just moments ago he had been screaming about killing Orihime. "Those hairpins, she told me once that they were a gift from you," he told him. Ichigo couldn't remember when or where he had heard that but he knew it was true. "She's been wearing them every day since you died."

"**I…I thought she threw them away,**" Sora guiltily admitted. "**I thought she had forgotten about me.**"

A smile spread across his lips. "You're her big brother," he replied, turning about to Orihime and Rukia. "She would never forget about you."

Sora's hand shot out, grabbing the blade of his sword and wrestling it from his grip. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"**I know what I have to do now,**" Sora answered, his voice surprisingly calm as he raised the blade to his throat. "**If I stayed it would only be a matter of time before I lost myself again and tried to hurt her. I can't let that happen.**"

The horrible realization dawned on Ichigo as the blade came to rest on the hollow's neck. He was going to kill himself! "Wait!" he exclaimed. "Don't-"

"Stop Ichigo," Rukia said, cutting him off. "He's making the right decision. Once a soul becomes a hollow it can never go back."

"But-"

"Don't worry Ichigo. Reaping a hollow is not the same as killing it. The zanpakutō purifies the hollow and sends them on to the Soul Society," she explained, the glow fading from her hands. "It's why we Shinigami exist in the first place, to help move souls to the afterlife."

Orihime's eyes slowly opened, coming to focus on Sora as he stabbed himself. Immediately his body began to disintegrate, particles of his being floating into the air before disappearing. "**Goodbye…**Orihime…" he said to his little sister, mask crumbling away to reveal his true face.

Orihime smiled. "Have a nice day Sora."

Sora returned the smile as he disappeared completely, a black butterfly taking flight from the fading particles.

For a moment no one said anything. It was over. Sora was at peace and Orihime was safe again. Mission accomplished.

"My wounds…they're healed," Orihime said, studying the blood covered tears in her clothing with amazement.

…He had forgotten about that. Rukia said they weren't supposed to let ordinary people know about Shinigami, hollows and their secret activities. Not only had Orihime seen him in action but seen her brother as a hollow and Tatsuki become that…well wolf-thing. And then there was Tatsuki. What exactly was she?

"Yes I healed you and Tatsuki with my Kidō," Rukia replied as she began to fish through her pockets for something.

"Well then I have a million questions-"

Rukia had pulled out something that looked remarkably like a light and flicked it on. There was a flash of light like a flashbulb going off and Orihime crumbled to the ground.

Ichigo let out an annoyed sigh as he scratched his head. Why did Rukia always give out information after it would be helpful for him to know it? "What did you just do?"

"This device allows me to replace the last hour or so of her memory and replace it with a random new memory," she answered, putting the small item back in her pocket.

The Substitute raised an eyebrow questioningly. "A random memory?"

"It all depends on the person in question. But she'll make up something that seem plausible to her as to what happened."

He glanced over at Tatsuki only to immediately turn away, his cheeks reddening a bit at her near naked form. "And Tatsuki?"

Rukia put a hand on her chin, contemplating the matter for a moment. "Hmm…I can't modify her memory like with Orihime, not anymore anyway. But maybe if we're lucky she won't remember any about tonight." She paused, shaking her head. "We can't take that chance. And I'm not sure if we should leave her on her own for now anyway. Besides it wouldn't be good to leave her here, half-naked in torn clothes."

He had to agree with her on that. At the very least it would be disturbing for her to wake up in that state. Anyone looking at her would think that she was attacked by someone, or worse. And what if when she woke up Tatsuki started freaking out and turned back into the form? Nope they had to take her with them.

"Go on, pick her up," Rukia said, heading for the door.

Ichigo blinked. "What?"

"Someone has to carry her back to your house," the Shinigami pointed out.

"But-but she's half-naked," he stuttered.

Rukia stared at him like he had just proclaimed the sky was blue. "So?"

"So Tatsuki would kick my ass if she found out!"

"Then don't tell her," she replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Few things scared the hell out of him. Having a pissed Tatsuki after him was not at the top of that list but it was high up there. And the fact that Tatsuki could turn into a giant wolf only made it scarier. Besides what if someone saw him carrying her like that? "She's half-naked," he insisted.

Rukia just rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Oh grow up Ichigo. It's not like you're intentionally trying to feel her up despite how filthy your mind might be."

"Filthy? I don't have a filthy mind!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"And yet the first thing you thought of when I told you to carry her was touching her naked body. Only a perverted mind would think of that."

Her words left Ichigo dumbstruck, his face doing its best to impersonate a fish.

* * *

Tatsuki groaned as her eye fluttered open, blinking against the bright light. A beam of sunlight had peaked through the blinds, hitting her face. She groaned as she turned over onto her left side and started to drift back to sleep.

'_Wait… My bedroom window is on the left side, not the right,'_ she realized, opening her eyes and looking around.

This wasn't her bedroom. It was however one she knew, Ichigo's. She was sleeping in his room, in his bed. Tatsuki sat up, pushing the blankets off her and realizing the second strange thing. She was wearing clothes far too large for her. Judging by the number '15' on the t-shirt she was wearing it was Ichigo's. So why was she wearing his clothes?

And why the hell wasn't she wearing underwear?

At that moment the door opened and Ichigo entered, carrying a plate of food and a glass of juice, closing the door behind him. He stopped when he saw that she was awake. "Huh… Oh you're awake. How do you feel Tatsuki?" he said, moving to set the food on his desk.

"Kurosaki why am I in your bed? Why am I wearing your clothes?" she dryly asked, barely keeping her anger back. "And why the hell am I not wearing any underwear?"

Ichigo's face turned beet red, beads of sweat forming on his brow. "It's not like that all Tatsuki!"

That answer was much too quick for her liking, like he had been preparing that answer. However before she could press him the closet door slid open and that new girl, Rukia Kuchiki stepped out, her eyes studying her for a moment. "Good you're awake. How are you feeling?"

Tatsuki blinked and turned back to Ichigo. "Kurosaki why is the new girl living in your closet?"

"It's not what it looks like!" Ichigo exclaimed, his face turning even redder and drenched in sweat.

As freaky as things were getting she knew Ichigo pretty well. He was many things but he was far too… well he simply wasn't that kind of guy. Still something told that Ichigo needed a little bit of messing with. "So you're also keeping a girl in your closet," Tatsuki said, crossing her arms as a smirk spread across her face. "And to think some of the girls were gossiping that maybe you didn't swing that way. Clearly you're a massive pervert."

Naturally Ichigo started to freak out. "No it's not like that at…wait." He paused, realizing the full extent of what she said. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened in disbelief. "What?"

Rukia stared at her in confusion. "I don't get it," she said, looking about as clueless as they come.

'_Seriously? Where's this girl from?' _Tatsuki shrugged her shoulders and continued, "Oh it's not all that surprising Ichigo. You've never really expressed an interest in girls and you do hang out with that player Kojima. Some of the girls figure that if you had wanted a date with a girl you'd get him to hook you up and since you haven't…well you get the picture."

Ichigo just stood there, unable to react in any coherent way. His mouth was silently moving back and forth, trying and failing to form words. A vein in his sweat covered forehead twitched furiously as his right eye did the same. "Relax. There's only a few of the girls that think that," Tatsuki replied, suppressing a laugh. "The rest just think that you and Sado are just thugs."

Technically what she said was _true_ it just happened to be several months old and completely irrelevant. But he didn't need to know that. Besides maybe that would get him to make the first move on Orihime.

Kuchiki moved passed Ichigo, reaching the side of the bed. There was a serious look in her eyes. "What do you remember about last night?" she asked, her tone dead serious.

Tatuki blinked a couple times, trying to think back to last night. What did happen last night and how did she get here? She could remember going over to Orihime's with some leftovers from dinner and talking with her for a bit but then everything became hazy. Her head started to throb as the memories slowly filtered through, like a film feel coming into focus.

…_Orihime lifelessly falling backwards before an invisible force threw her across the room…_

…_being slowly crushed to death by that same invisible force…_

…_her heart racing, fire coursing through her veins, strength pouring into her limbs, the creature becoming visible to her eyes…_

…_her nails becoming claws, her body screaming in agony as it started to change, muscles shifting, hair—no fur growing through her skin…_

…_everything became red, fury consuming her mind…_

…_clawing, slashing, biting at the serpentine monster…_

…_Ichigo holding a massive sword…_

…_threat…kill…_

…_Orihime…_

…_no…don't hurt…_

Tatsuki was…was… She just didn't know how to react. "I-I…I became a…" she stuttered, finding herself at a loss for words. "How did it happen?"

"It's simple. You are a Jinmenjūshin," Kuchiki stated matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"They're an ancient tribe of human shapeshifters," she answered. "I don't know exactly how they came to be or how long they've existed but they have been around for as long as we Shinigami have."

For a moment Tatsuki just stared at her like she had grown a second head which at this point would have been far less unsettling. Jinmenjūshin, shapeshifters, Shinigami… What the hell was she talking about?

Apparently Kuchiki could tell she was confused as she pulled out the chair from Ichigo's desk and sat down. "I suppose I should start from the beginning…"

Ten minutes of explaining and Rukia's crappy drawings later Tatsuki had the bulk of the story down. Rukia Kuchiki despite her outward appearance was not human but rather a Shinigami, a spirit that sent the dead to the afterlife and dealt with evil spirits called hollows. However nearly a week ago, the night when a truck supposedly crashed into Ichigo's house that all changed. That night a hollow was hunting after Ichigo for his high spiritual pressure (whatever that meant) and his family got in the way. As expected Ichigo rushed in like a crazy idiot and tried to attack the giant monster with a bat. Naturally it didn't work and Rukia herself got hurt trying to save his stupid ass. Though she would never admit it out loud, Tatsuki would have likely done the same thing had she been in his position despite how colossally idiotic it was.

Anyway with Rukia wounded and the monster ready to make a meal out of all of them she gave Ichio half of her powers, turning him temporarily into a Substitute Shinigami. These faux death gods carried a portion of their power, enhancing their physical capabilities and providing them with a special sword they called a zanpakutō. However while they were given the powers of a Shinigami they weren't true Shinigami because they were still a living human and that made them weaker. Flesh and blood bodies couldn't withstand the same amount of punishment as ones made of spiritual energy. Nor could they achieve the same degree of high power as a full-fledged Shinigami could. Also they required a focus, an ordinary item that been imbued with a bit of spiritual power, allowing them to properly channel their powers into a useable form. In Ichigo's case his focus was nothing more a random coin that happened to be in pocket. However without that focus it would be very difficult to summon his Shinigami power if not outright impossible.

With her powers Ichigo slew the hollow and saved everyone, unfortunately Rukia kind of screwed things up. Instead of giving him a fraction of her power she gave Ichigo nearly all of it, leaving her with next to nothing. Now she was in a gigai, a fake body that allowed her to live as a human while she recovered which apparently included living in Ichigo's closet and wearing his sisters' clothes. Either the afterlife had some weird ideas about things or Kuchiki was one strange girl. Since Rukia couldn't perform her duties anymore, Ichigo was filling in for her with his borrowed powers.

However they had been a bit sloppy about it. Already her circle of friends had been talking about how buddy-buddy Ichigo seemed to be with the new girl without any explanation why. Then there were a couple of those odd disappearing acts the two had done the last couple of days. How did they expect anyone not to notice that something strange was going on? If she had been in Ichigo's shoes she would have done things differently to say the least. Like maybe claim that Rukia was her cousin or something like that to explain their familiarity or why they walked home together. Having to leave class to deal with hollows in pairs was just sloppy and begging for someone to ask what was going on. If it were up to her she'd get that hollow-tracking phone from Rukia. Then when a hollow showed up, she'd excuse herself to go to the washroom when in reality she duck out and deal with it. One person going out to the washroom never drew any attention, two people leaving together was a whole story.

You'd think between the two of them they'd have some common sense about not trying to alert everyone that something was going on. Though it wasn't like anyone would actually realize or believe what they were actually doing. As crazy as some of the ideas and gossip about them were it was nothing compared to the truth. Well expect for maybe the weird stuff Orihime imagined from time to time. But that didn't really count as no one else actually believed it.

After that they had explained what had happened last night. Apparently Orihime's dead brother had himself become a hollow. Perceiving both Ichigo and herself as the people that had taken Orihime from him, he had tried to kill them so that he could have Orihime all to himself. After failing to kill Ichigo because of his powers, he had attempted to get both her and Orihime which was where she became…a werewolf for a lack of a better word.

But far worse than any of that she, in that mindless state had tried to kill both Ichigo and Orihime. That was inexcusable no matter the situation. With the story of the last few days done Tatsuki let out a quiet sigh, leaning against the wall as sat on Ichigo's bed. "So basically Kuchiki's a pint-sized grim reaper, you're a temporary superhero with an oversized sword, Orihime's brother died and became a giant snake monster and I'm really an overgrown wild dog," she commented dryly with a bitter chuckle. "I think I liked it better when I thought you were some kind of secret pervert Ichigo."

"Hey come on Tatsuki. You're not a wild dog," Ichigo replied, sitting down next to her. "Last night you just…lost control."

He was trying to comfort her but the images of her attacking Ichigo, of her standing over Orihime ready to slash her with her claws were frozen in her mind. The images just couldn't seem to leave her mind. "Easy for you to say Ichigo," she said, folding her knees against her chest. "You have a bad day and you smack up some thugs to blow off steam. I have a bad day and I'll turn into a giant dog that would have killed you."

"I'm not exactly sure if that will happen again," Rukia replied. "That form, at least from what I know of the Jinmenjūshin is something of a last resort for them, sacrificing intelligence and consciousness for pure destructive power. I suspect that's why you became that form last night. Sora was trying to kill you which in return triggered the transformation. If it doesn't happen again then you shouldn't change again."

Well that was a bit of a relief. At least she wouldn't become that _thing_ after something minor like getting pissed off at Chizuru.

"Yeah but if hollows were drawn to me because of my spiritual pressure wouldn't Tatsuki start attracting them too?" Ichigo pointed out.

Rukia hesitated for a moment. "…Yes. They will," she admitted. "They'll start coming after her."

Tatsuki leaned back, laughing bitterly. When it rains it pours. Not only could she become a wild beast but she was going to attract those hollow monsters. "Yeah that's a problem."

"Don't worry about it Tatsuki," Ichigo replied. "I'm already protecting Karakura Town. No hollow is gonna get you on my watch."

She couldn't help but scowl at his words. That wasn't what she wanted. She wasn't a damsel in distress! She didn't need to be protected! Had he forgotten all those years when he had been kicking his ass? Sure he managed to beat her the last couple of times they faced each other but that was besides the point. If he thought she was just going to sit back and let him protect her he had another thing coming. "You can't be everywhere all at once Ichigo. And what about after Kuchiki gets her powers back and you lose yours?" Tatsuki replied. "Besides who said I wanted you to protect me Ichigo. In case you forgot I was kicking your ass and that hollow's last night."

"But Tatsuki that was-"

Tatsuki shook her head and sat up straight. "I don't need your protection Ichigo, I need you to help train me."

Both Ichigo and Rukia gave her questioning looks. "Excuse me?" Rukia said.

"You heard me. Train me!" the dark haired teen proclaimed. "I need to have control over that…_beast_. If I lose control like that again I'll kill people. There's no way in hell I'm letting that happen!"

Rukia hesitated, putting a hand through her hair in stressed manner. "Well the thing is I don't know a whole lot on the Jinmenjūshin and what they are capable of. The standing order of all Shinigami when they encounter a Jinmenjūshin is to not engage them in anyway whatsoever, to just leave them alone," she explained. "Shinigami and Jinmenjūshin make it a habit to avoid each other. I'm just not really such how we can help you."

"That doesn't matter," Ichigo replied, a smile crossing his lips. "If we have to figure it out along the way then so be it. I'll help you Tatsuki."

She couldn't help but smile back. Ichigo understood. They were alike in that regard. If they had the power to fight they wouldn't—couldn't sit on the sidelines while others fought for them. _'Thank you Ichigo.'_

* * *

Jinmenjūshin means 'beast in human form', a fitting name for a race of shapeshifters.

Now Tatsuki has power but its unrefined and out of her control for the time being so don't expect her to right way be fighting alongside Ichigo right off the bat.

Anyway that's all for now. Like it, hate it, tell me what you think with a review.

Oh and once you're done, check out Artemis Goldborough's 'He Wasn't Late'. That story isn't getting the attention it deserves.


	3. Chapter 2

Yo everybody! Back with another chapter. It took me a bit longer than I had expected but its done now.

Don't have much else to say other than enjoy!

* * *

"So this is your focus," Tatsuki Arisawa commented as she carefully inspected the coin. "It's kind of small."

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders looking a little annoyed as they stood in a secluded corner of a local park. "That's because it was a coin. It was all I had on me at the time."

"Yeah but I thought it be bigger, like your sword," the teen replied. "Speaking of that how do lug that thing around? I mean it's got to be heavy and the last time I checked you weren't _that_ strong."

"I was strong enough to beat you the last couple of times we fought," Ichigo shot back, a vein on his forehead beginning to twitch.

Tatsuki crossed her arms, slight smirk on her lips. "And yet I seem to recall that your hits were weaker than anything Orihime could have thrown at me."

"I wasn't trying to hurt you last night!" Ichigo yelled. "Besides you weren't exactly yourself."

"Excuses, excuses Kurosaki," the dark haired girl said, tossing the skull-faced coin at Ichigo. "Let's get started."

"You sure you want to do this Tatsu-"

Tatsuki's fist cut him off as it collided with his jaw. Ichigo staggered back, clutching his chin. "What the hell?" he exclaimed. "Why'd you hit me?"

"That's my answer Ichigo," the girl shot back, standing ready for a fight.

Ichigo sighed as he clenched his fingers around his focus, summoning his Shinigami powers. Blue energy shot out from his hand, coiling up around his arm and body. The energy formed into his zanpakutō, sheath, belts and armbands. "Same old Tatsuki," he muttered, drawing his weapon. "Well don't say I didn't warn you."

Rukia Kuchiki crossed her arms as she watched the two teens started sparring and sighed. It seemed like everything that could have gone wrong had gone wrong. As if losing her powers and dragging a human into the affairs of the Shinigami hadn't been bad enough somehow she had gotten himself tangled up now with a Jinmenjūshin. Though at least interacting with a Jinmenjūshin was only frowned upon by the Soul Society, it wasn't actually illegal. Turning a human into a Substitute Shinigami with the permission of a Captain was an entirely different matter. However given the circumstances and providing that Ichigo's temporary powers are removed after her own are recovered the punishment wouldn't be as severe as it could be.

Then there was Tatsuki Arisawa, a Jinmenjūshin and apparently Ichigo's oldest friend. Some of the older captains and officers, her own captain included, had encountered them before but never in her wildest dreams had she expected to encounter one of them herself. If nothing else she'd have a story to tell when she got back to her Squad. After all besides Captain Ukitake who else in Squad Thirteen could say that they had met a Jinmenjūshin.

But at the same time she was concerned about the Jinmenjūshin. As last night had demonstrated Tatsuki had no control over her powers or even awareness that she was different from normal humans. However given that none of them knew next to nothing about the Jinmenjūshin and their abilities that was a serious problem. The other night's transformation was triggered by being caught in life-threatening situation but were there other triggers? Could high levels of stress and anxiety like what one experiences in those situations cause her to transform again? Or had the attack upon her merely awakened an entity within her that caused her transformation? Were the Jinmenjūshins' animal forms akin to zanpakutōs with a spirit tied to that power residing within them? If so was Tatsuki in control of it or was it waiting to get out again? There were too many unknowns surrounding Tatsuki at the moment. That made her dangerous to them regardless of her past with Ichigo.

Maybe she'd go visit Urahara and see if he had some information on Jinmenjūshins.

Ichigo let out a yelp as Tatsuki tossed him from his waist. Predictably he wasn't really trying otherwise they'd probably be dragging her back to the clinic before long. Still he could have tried a little bit harder and as it was now he was just insulting her by holding back this much.

The Substitute Shinigami got back up to his feet but Tatsuki was already on him, her knee driving into his crotch. Ichigo shrieked, collapsing to his knees, his sword falling down to the ground next to him. "Come on! Stop going easy on me Ichigo!" Tatsuki snapped. "If you're afraid of cutting me then don't use your sword! You were pretty good at fighting with your bare hands at one point."

Okay…he deserved that.

"Alright, alright," Ichigo said as he shakily got back onto his feet.

He slipped into a fighting stance but didn't pick up his sword. Tatsuki dropped into his own stance and two started trading blows. Ichigo was still holding back but nowhere near as much as he had been. As it stood they appeared almost equal, almost.

Ichigo threw a punch at Tatsuki's face but she was faster, rolling under the blow and passed his left leg. She drove her elbow into the back of his knee. The teen cried out in pain, falling forward onto the other knee. "You're getting sloppy Ichigo," Tatsuki said as she got back up. "Been spending too much time beating up thugs that don't know how to fight. You should have stayed with the Dojo."

"They didn't have anything left to teach me," Ichigo replied, nursing his knee. "Besides there was no one left there to challenge me."

Tatsuki replied by whacking the back of his head. "Don't think that just because you beat me those last couple of matches that you can still be beat me," she said. "Substitute Shinigami or not I can still kick your ass."

Ichigo got back up to his feet, a grin on his face and ready for more. "Not with hits like that."

Well…if nothing else she was an effective training tool for Ichigo.

* * *

"A cursed parakeet?" Gitano Shigeo asked in disbelief.

Harutoki Ide nervously nodded his head. "Uh huh… All of his previous owners suffered terrible accidents and died," he replied as he held up the bird cage.

Yasutora Sado, better known as Chad to his friends stared at the small white bird as he listened to his friends. The parakeet cocked its head; seemingly glancing back and forth at the teens as they talked. There was something…different about this bird.

The blonde put a hand on his scruff covered chin as he studied the parakeet. "And you ended up with it?"

"Yeah… I'm totally screwed…" Harutoki grimly said, his forehead covered in cold sweat as he placed the cage down.

Chad couldn't say if this supposed curse was real or not but Harutoki believed it to the point that he was scared to death of both it and the parakeet. Maybe he'd…

"Hey Shigeo you want him?" the dark haired teen half asked, half pleaded. "He'd make a great pet.

"What? Keep that thing away from me!" Gitano shrieked, practically jumping out of his skin in fright.

Harutoki turned to him, a look of wild hope and crazed desperation in his eyes. "What about you Chad? Isn't it cute?"

…Well it was cute. And he didn't believe in curses. Even if it was real he could take whatever it could throw at him. Plus it was a cute bird.

_SNAP!_

The eyes of all three teens shot up in time to see a steel construction beam falling down on them. Yasutora rushed up to his feet, knocked his friends to ground and shielded them as well as the bird with his body. Pain lanced through his back, shoulders and head as the beam hit and bent around him. Grunting and breathing heavily he began to stand up, slowly casting off the steel beam, careful not to let it fall on anyone.

"Whoa… Are you alright Chad?" a concerned Harutoki asked.

"…I'm fine," he grunted as he felt his blood begin to drip down his face.

"Fine? A freaking steel beam landed on you!" Gitano exclaimed.

"Thank you for saving me," a third, younger voice added.

For a moment the three of them stared at the source of the voice, at a complete loss for words. The bird had just spoken to them. The bird could talk…

"My name is Yūichi Shibata. What's yours?" the parakeet continued, his voice that of a small child's.

Gitano blinked his eyes, looking like he was about ready to faint from everything that had just happened. "Did that bird just talk?"

Harutoki was just as surprised as everyone else at this revelation. "It actually does talk! I thought they were making that up!"

"I'm Yasutora Sado," he said to the bird, to Yūichi.

* * *

Keigo Asano was not having a good day. His alarm hadn't gone off this morning and now he was running late, really late. Miss Ochi wouldn't give a damn if he was late or not, his parents were another matter entirely. And Mizuho was not about to let him get away with another late despite the fact that she could have woken him up before she left. She probably did it intentionally to get him in trouble like the sadist she was.

And to make matters worse Mizuiro hadn't shown up this morning to walk to school with him. If he had he would have called his cellphone when he got to the apartment building which would have woken him up. Instead Mizuiro was probably off getting a ride in with one of his college girlfriends. And that was another thing, how did Mizuiro manage get all those hot babes? It wasn't fair! He'd always date them for a month or two and then dump them for no reason whatsoever. There's no way he'd ever be that cold. So what did Mizuiro have that he didn't? Was it that whole fragile and cute act of his? He could-

"_Waaaaaaaaah…"_

Keigo stopped in his tracks, the loud wail reverberating around him and sending a shutter down his spine. That-that wail…it sounded like someone was being tortured. Worse it was close by. His eyes nervously darted around, looking for some sign of what could have made it. Once again the cry echoed through the air, coming from a nearby alley.

Slowly Keigo started to approach the alleyway. A part of him was screaming to turn tail and run as far away as possible but another, much smaller part was insisting that he should check it out in case some was hurt and in need of help. He shook his head, hating himself for doing it. Ichigo was rubbing off on him. "Hello? Is someone there?" he called out as he stepped into the alley.

Aside from some dumpsters, a few empty boxes and some scattered trash there was nothing in the alley. Cold sweat began to slide down his face and despite it being a fairly warm summer morning the second he stepped into the alley the temperature dropped below freezing, sending shivers through his body. What was going on? There was no one there to cry out and why was so cold all of a sudden?

"…_attacked me…" _a voice whispered into his ear.

Letting out a rather girly shriek—er…a surprised yelp, Keigo jumped from the voice and spun around. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped in shock. There…there wasn't anyone there! Nothing, zilch, nil, zip. He was completely alone.

"…_sliced me…cut me…killed me…" _it uttered again from behind him as something pressed down on his shoulder.

It felt like a hand…a hand that was invisible and had sharp nails, or at least what he prayed were sharp nails. Keigo trembled in its grip, buckets of sweat pouring down his face, sweat that we could swear was freezing solid in the cold air. "Ah… S-sorry but I-I think I'll be going now," he stuttered, trying but failing to break free from its grasp.

"…_must…stop him…make him pay…kill…him…"_

With that something started clawing into his back and all Keigo could do was scream as it began to burrow into him…

* * *

Ichigo couldn't help but shake his head as he watched Rukia struggle to poke her straw into her juicebox. A centuries old Shinigami was being beaten by a simple juicebox. He couldn't help but wonder what place the Soul Society was if they had never heard of juiceboxes before. Wasn't that where everyone went when they died? So why wouldn't know about something common like that?

"Together again? You two must be in love or something," his friend Mizuiro Kojima commented as he approached them.

"Does this look like love to you?" Ichigo grunted as he started unwrapping his lunch.

Mizuiro shrugged his shoulders and sat down next to him. "Doesn't matter," he replied. "People are still going to talk."

Well there were worse things they could be talking about. The idea of him and Rukia being an item wasn't even on the radar. Who cares if they wanted to gossip about some imaginary relationship between them. "Whatever. If I cared about what other people think I would have dyed my hair black years ago."

The shorter teen nodded back. "I guess so." He turned to Rukia and smiled. "Hi Rukia."

The Shinigami looked up from her juicebox, surprise and a bit of confusion in her eyes. "You're Mizuiro right?"

Mizuiro's smile widened. "Oh you remembered my name. Yes I'm Mizuiro Kojima, age fifteen," he said. "My hobbies are-"

"Picking up chicks," Ichigo dryly finished.

"Hey!"

But Ichigo ignored him, his attention on the pint-sized Shinigami. "You better watch out Rukia," he warned. "Mizuiro may look like a dork but he's a real player."

"Stop Ichigo!" the black haired teen exclaimed, appalled by his words. "You're going to ruin my reputation." His demeanor changed to calm indifference. "Anyway I only go for older girls. I have no interest in girls my own age."

Older girls indeed… While he had never actually met any of the girls in person he had seen several of them when they dropped Mizuiro off at school in the morning. Some would say that it was wrong for a twenty-something to date a fifteen year old but in Mizuiro's case it was the other way around. Besides Mizuiro seemed to be completely fine with it and really it was his private business who he had relationships with. Of course his love of older did apply to Rukia too. "Like I said watch out," Ichigo replied.

Mizuiro glanced back and forth between the two of them, a bewildered look on his face. "Huh?"

Right… Mizuiro didn't know that Rukia was far older than she appeared. Not that he would believe it if he tried to explain it. "Forget it."

The shorter boy shrugged and started eating his lunch. "So have you heard anything Keigo or Chad today?"

"No. You?"

Mizuiro shook his head. "Nope. Maybe they got that spring bug that's been going around."

Ichigo shot his friend a questioning look. "Keigo maybe but Chad? Nothing's ever managed to take him down for more than a few hours. In all the years I've known him he's never missed an entire day because of colds or injuries."

As if on cue the stairwell door opened, revealing the giant half-Mexican teen. In one hand he held his lunch, in the other a bird in cage. However the bird cage wasn't the only thing different about Chad today. There were bandages on his forehead and right hand. "Hey," Chad greeted as he approached the small group.

"Geez Chad. What happened to you?" Ichigo asked, concerned over his friend's health.

"…Last night a steel beam fell on me," he answered.

For a moment all Ichigo could do is stare at Chad like he had grown a second, more talkative head. "A steel beam? How are you still standing?"

"…And a motorcycle hit me this morning on the way to school," Chad continued as though he had never stopped.

"You got run over?" Mizuiro blurted out, just as dumbstruck as the rest of them.

"…Then I carried the injured rider to the hospital."

"Seriously?" Ichigo exclaimed. "What are you made of Chad? Steel? Titanium?"

"I'm starting to think that he's made out of an undiscovered super dense element that hasn't been discovered yet," Mizuiro jokingly commented. "I assume that's why you were late Chad, helping get that guy to the hospital."

Chad nodded his head. "Yeah."

Ichigo chuckled and shook his head a bit. Well it was just as Keigo had once said; the only things that would survive a nuclear holocaust were cockroaches, Twinkies and Chad. Still it was always comforting to know that a guy built like a tank had your back.

He glanced down at the bird cage, studying the little parakeet inside. "So what's with the bird Chad?"

"Last night a guy gave it to me," the teen answered.

"And?"

But it wasn't Chad who answered. "Hello. I'm Yūichi Shibata," the bird cheerfully said. "What's your name?"

"Wow… Cute trick," Mizuiro commented, leaning in to get a closer look at the bird. "What else can you get it to say?"

Single thought passed through Ichigo's mind when the bird spoke, _'Something is wrong with this bird.'_

It was the way the bird felt and how it spoke. Some birds could mimic what people said but this seemed a little too good for a simple mimicking, like actual talking. Then there was this odd presence coming from it, almost the like what he felt when he was around deceased souls. Could spirits inhabit living things?

He glanced over at Rukia who staring intently at the bird. The look in her eyes confirmed that she knew about this. "I sense it too Ichigo," she quietly told him as they backed away from Chad and his bird. "But I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's probably nothing more than a lonely soul inhabiting that bird. We can perform a konsō tonight on it."

And yet another thing about Shinigami, spirits and hollows that she hadn't bothered to tell him earlier. It was starting to get a bit annoying that she wasn't telling him everything he needed to know, that hollows first go after their friends and family in life, that hollows had been ordinary people and that slaying them didn't actually kill them but purified them, or that souls could inhabit living things. But then again from what snippets he had gotten from Rukia about the Shinigami and the Soul Society it took several years of training and learning in an academy to become a full-fledged Shinigami. So he didn't expect her to tell him everything but she could at least have explained everything there was about hollows and the deceased.

"…Why is Keigo standing up there on the fence?" Chad suddenly said, pointing up at something behind him.

Ichigo spun around, looking up at the fence that surrounded the edge of the roof. Just as Chad said Keigo was standing there atop the fence, his uniform ruffled and his eyes closed. "Keigo?" he asked, worried and confused.

"We're on the roof of a four story building. How did he get up here without using the stairs?" Mizuiro pointed out, looking bewildered and pale.

Keigo's eyelids slid open, revealing two black pools where his eyes had been. His body jerked and twitched yet he never lost his balance on the narrow top of the fence. Black eyes frantically scanned the rooftop for something. "_Where…is he…_" he spoke in not one but two voices, one Keigo's, the other…wasn't. "S_mell his stink…here but not here… Where…where…WHERE?_"

His eyes landed on the bird and he snarled before jumping down and charging at Chad. With a single blow he threw the larger teen into the stairwell door, tearing it off the hinges as he pulled the bird cage from his hands. Yūichi screaming and crying in terror as everyone else watched on in shock. Leaping what had to be ten feet in the air Keigo landed on the fence and from there he jumped down to the school yard below before taking off with the crying bird.

"What…what just happened?" a stunned Mizuiro asked.

Truthfully he was nearly as lost as his friend was. It was impossible for Keigo to have done what he had just done. Hell most of the big muscle-bound thugs they fought regularly had a hard time knocking Chad down and Keigo was…well he was a scrawny whip that had never raised a fist before in his life had done so like it was nothing. Then there were the black eyes and the twin voices coming out of his mouth which was just out right creepy and definitely not natural. But he knew enough to know that it had something to do with that bird and that spirit inhabiting it. Plus he had Rukia. She'd know what's going right now.

He glanced over at Rukia who nodded back, her eyes confirming his suspicions that she knew what this. Ichigo turned back to his friends. Chad was starting to get back onto his feet but it looked like he had reopened some of his wounds. "Mizuiro, look after Chad," he said as he and Rukia headed for the stairs.

The shorter teen blinked. "Okay but where are you two going?"

"I'll tell you later," he called back.

It was a lie. Rukia would erase their memories after this was dealt with. It wasn't that he wanted to lie to them or alter their memories; there just weren't any other options. If he told them the truth about what was going on and provided they _didn't_ think he was completely insane, what could they actually do about it? They couldn't see hollows and spirits much less defend against them. Well expect maybe for Chad, he was a human tank after all. And that was part of the problem. Mizuiro and Keigo would, if they knew, avoid the hollows and the fighting but Chad wouldn't, he couldn't. He would follow him into battle against the hollows just as he always did against all those thugs and bullies. And it would get him killed. He couldn't let that happen so if it meant keeping them in the dark about all this so be it.

Once he was certain they were out of earshot he turned to Rukia and asked the question weighing down on his mind, "What happened to Keigo?"

"He's being possessed," Rukia replied as they ran.

"Possessed? Like by a demon?"

The Shinigami shook her head. "By a demon? Unlikely, we would have known if one of them escaped. The most likely ones to possess someone are hollows, souls or demi-hollows."

Ichigo mentally groaned. Great…yet another bit of information that she had forgotten to tell him about. "What are demi-hollows?"

"Demi-hollows are souls that have begun to turn into hollows but haven't fully crossed over. Their Chains of Fate are corroded and damaged but are still intact. When it breaks apart entirely they'll fully become a hollow," Rukia explained. "They aren't as powerful as normal hollows but are half-mad by awakened hollow instincts as well as by their desperate attempts at clinging to the attachments and desires they had when they were alive."

Okay that made some sense. He didn't think that Orihime's brother had gone from normal soul to ravenous hollow overnight. And if a spirit could possess a bird it made sense that one could possess a human.

"But regardless of what is controlling his body we have to get it out of him as soon as possible Ichigo," Rukia grimly added.

"I know."

Rukia shook her head. "No you don't Ichigo. Spirits and hollows can no longer comprehend the limitations of the human body. They can easily push a human body beyond its natural limits and kill it in the process. But even dead they'll keep on using it, destroying the body's soul in the process."

Ichigo paled at her words, realizing just what she was saying. "You mean?"

"Yes, eventually it will kill Keigo, body and soul."

Without evening noticing Ichigo started running faster, fishing out his focus from his pocket. "How much time do we have?" he asked as they pushed through the doors and into the schoolyard.

"It depends on how long it has been controlling him, how far it pushes his body and the strength of his own soul and body. He could last a couple of days or he could just as easily have only an hour or two left."

Ichigo gritted his teeth as he called forth his Shinigami powers. It was always a bit of a rush whenever he transformed. His strength, his speed, his endurance all of it increased beyond anything he had ever imagined possible before becoming a Substitute Shinigami. But as great as it was it was always tempered by the fact that nearly every time he used them someone, living or dead was in danger, like right now with Keigo and the spirit in the bird. "How do I get it out of him?" he asked, position his body so that Rukia could climb onto his back.

With what was starting to become a well-practiced skill Rukia climbed atop his back, quickly positioning herself in an ideal position for him to run at full speed with her on him. No sooner was she secured on his back than Ichigo took off, half sprinting, half leaping as he traveled in the direction Keigo had gone. "First you need to perform a konsō on him which will temporarily drive the spirit from his body," she continued to explain. "Then you'll have to sever the chains binding the two together with your zanpakutō before they can remerge. From there you just have to deal with the spirit."

Ichigo nodded his head in understanding. It wasn't too much different from what he had been doing. Konsō on an unwilling person wasn't anything new; he had dealt with a couple people unwilling to move on before. The only difference was that this thing could actually fight back and this wasn't like fighting a hollow. He couldn't hurt Keigo too much or he'd end up killing him. "It's never easy is it?" he quietly muttered to himself.

"What was that?" Rukia asked.

"Nothing," Ichigo replied. "Just hoping that we get to him in time."

* * *

Pain lanced through his body as he ran but he had experienced far worse. It would take a lot more to stop him.

"Come on Chad," Mizuiro huffed as he tried to keep up. "Ichigo is going to get your bird back. You need to see the nurse."

Yasutora shook his head. He had promised to protect Yūichi and he _never_ broke his word. Then there was Keigo. Something was wrong with him. He couldn't sit by as a friend was in trouble. "Sorry. Can't."

"Well at least slow down a bit," the shorter boy called back, lagging behind more. "My legs aren't as long as yours."

"Sorry. Can't."

* * *

It didn't take them long to catch up with Keigo. The thing in Keigo had stopped in a small park that was thankfully empty. It was wildly shaking the bird cage, stopping briefly to hiss and curse out the bird though what exactly was being said Ichigo couldn't make out. "Put the bird down and leave Keigo's body," he angrily demanded as they approached.

It turned to him, its twitching head staring at him. "_Leave…Ichigo…_" it said through Keigo's lips.

"I won't! Not as long as you're in Keigo's body!" Ichigo shot back.

The thing in Keigo shook his head. "_Leave… No threat…_"

Rukia wisely moved away, keep her distance from the two of them. "I don't know what you are but I'm offering you this one chance. Leave Keigo's body now or I'll rip you out of him myself!"

"_No…_" it said, shaking Keigo's head. "_No threat…_"

"I'll show you just how much of a threat I am!" he roared, lunging at Keigo.

Ichigo hadn't drawn his sword. Regardless of what that thing was it was still possessing Keigo's body. He could _never_ bring his sword against one of his friends. Sure he slapped Keigo around but that had been just goofing around more than actually harming him, kind of like what his dad did with—nope, nope he wasn't going to finish that thought.

His fist raced at Keigo's face but that thing was faster, twisting around his arm and driving a fist into his abdomen while throwing away the bird cage. Ichigo staggered back, feeling his breakfast as well as what little he had eaten of his lunch threatening to rise up out of his throat. The blow was powerful, like a cannonball straight to his gut. There was no way a normal guy like Keigo could manage a punch like that. If it wasn't for his Shinigami powers Keigo's fist probably torn through him rather than severely upset his stomach.

"_No threat…_" it said, taunting him.

"Shut up!" the Substitute Shinigami shouted back, unleashing a barrage of punches.

The thing managed to dodge the first few blows but the fifth or sixth he managed to connect, slamming into the left side of Keigo's jaw. Keigo staggered back a step but was otherwise completely unaffected. It snarled and jumped on him, knocking him to the ground. _"No threat…"_ it rasped as it sat on his chest. _"Leave…or die…"_

"Not without Keigo!" he shouted back.

It howled frustration before it started to punch his face over and over again. Ichigo tried to fight it off but he could seem to overcome its strength. Rukia suddenly appeared, trying to shove Keigo off but it backhanded her. Ichigo yelled out her name as she was thrown back at least half a dozen feet. Suddenly a large fist slammed into the side of Keigo's head, throwing it off of him. Immediately Ichigo started to get back up to his feet, coming face to face with his rescuer.

"Ichigo," Chad said, offering him a hand up.

"Chad? What are you doing here?" he asked as he accepted the help.

"Figured you could use the help Ichigo," his friend answered.

The thing in Keigo let out an inhuman howl of frustration and anger as climbed to its knees, pounding its fists into the ground. Blood was dripping from Keigo's mouth and nose, the early signs of bruises forming on his skin. He had to finish this as soon as possible, before Keigo's body suffered anymore damage. "Chad, take the bird and go," Ichigo ordered as he started moving towards Keigo.

"But-"

"That thing in Keigo wants the bird. We can't let it have him," he explained, getting ready to finish this. "Don't worry I'll save Keigo. You protect the bird."

Chad said nothing but headed for the cage and its crying occupant. Keigo screamed at the sight of this and gave Ichigo an opening. He clotheslined friend, much like he every morning when Keigo tried his lame greeting but this time when his arm made contact he turned it into a headlock. At that same moment Chad collected his talking pet and started running away. Keigo snarled and howled, trying to free himself and stop Chad but Ichigo held on with everything he had.

Once Chad was beyond their sight he let go of Keigo. It turned around, glaring at him with murder in its black eyes. In a single motion Ichigo drew his sword and slammed its butt into Keigo's forehead, roaring as it fell. Light erupted from where the sword hilt made contact with skin. Screaming filled the air as something was thrown out form Keigo. What emerged from Keigo's back was…well it had been a woman at one point but now it was something else entirely. Its form was still that of a basic human shape but stretched out beyond what was normal, leaving its body abnormally tall and gaunt. The blue dress that the woman had worn during her death had fused with her skin and was in the process of changing with her body. Her dark hair reached far down her front and back, the ends intertwining together into tendril like tails. Marring her body were dozens of cuts from which leaked black blood. Claw-like nails tipped her long fingers while coils of rusted chain snaked around her body, started from a cracked and chipped plate on her chest and reaching out to Keigo's back. The former woman's face was partially hidden beneath a half formed and misshapened hollow mask which left her mouth and weeping left eye uncovered.

"What is that?" Ichigo exclaimed, staring eyes wide at the malformed soul.

"A demi-hollow!" Rukia called out. "Cut the chains before it can repossess him!"

"_Don't…Ichigo…_" both Keigo and the half-masked thing uttered together, their eyes on him.

Gripping his sword with bow hands Ichigo raised it over his head. "This is for hurting Keigo and Chad!" he roared, bringing the weapon down.

The rusted chains snapped like twigs under the long blade of his sword. Keigo let out a loud gasp, the blackness in his eyes fading. For a few seconds he stood there swaying on feet in a daze before he started coughing up blood and his knees gave out. "Keigo!" Ichigo yelled, rushing to his friend's side.

He managed to catch Keigo before he could hit the ground. His friend was an absolute mess. There were bruises and cuts all over his skin, his knuckles were bleeding and at least one finger was broken. And those were only the obvious injuries; there was no telling if he sustained internal injuries as well. "I'll start healing him Ichigo," Rukia said, appearing at his side. "You still have to deal with that demi-hollow."

Ichigo nodded, handing Keigo's limp form into her hands before turning to the demi-hollow. The corrupted soul howled and screamed in fury, wildly flailing its limbs but it didn't make any motion that it was going to attack again. If anything it looked like it was in terrible pain. A part of him felt sympathy for this woman and agonies she had gone through but another part of him didn't care at all. It was petty and spiteful but she had hurt one of his friends and could have killed him. At least it wouldn't be danger to anyone after this. "I don't know why you were after that bird or why you were using Keigo but it ends here and now," he said leveling his sword at the demi-hollow.

With a single swing of his zanpakutō the demi-hollow collapsed, its body disintegrating as it hit the ground. Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief, shouldering his sword as he turned back to Rukia and Keigo. Rukia had laid the teen out on the grass and was healing him. "How is he?"the Substitute Shinigami asked as he knelt down next to her.

"It's pretty bad Ichigo," Rukia admitted, continuing her work. "Though not as bad I feared."

"But he's gonna be okay right?"

Rukia nodded her head. "He should be," she replied. "But I don't have enough power to heal him completely."

"Don't push yourself too hard Rukia," Ichigo said, watching on. "Get him patched up as best you can. I'll carry him back home and my dad can do the rest."

Keigo groaned his eyelids slowly rising, revealing his natural brown eyes. "Ichigo…" he whispered.

"Are you alright Keigo?" Ichigo asked, moving his head closer to his friend so he could hear him better.

Keigo's hand unsteadily rose up and grabbed the collar of his uniform, letting a wet cough. "Ichigo…what did you do…" he rasped his eyes bloodshot. "She…we were trying…to protect you…you all… We…we weren't the threat…"

Ichigo was taken back by his words. He and that demi-hollow had been trying to protect them? Protect them from what? And if they had been trying to protect why had they hit Chad and taken the bird? "But it attacked Chad," he said.

"He…he could take it…" Keigo replied, coughing some more. "Needed to get the…the bird away from him… It's dangerous… The bird…monster…gonna…gonna kill Chad… She showed me…the people it's killed… Stop it…please…Ichi…Ichigo…before it…"

Whatever else Keigo was going to say was lost as he passed out, his arm falling limply to the ground as his eyes rolled back in his head. But that was all he needed to know. A hollow was hiding in that bird, pretending to be harmless before killing its owners. It had probably caused the accidents that hurt Chad in an attempt to kill him and consume his soul.

"Go after him Ichigo," Rukia said. "If what he's saying is true than Chad and everyone around him is in danger."

The bright haired teen nodded his head as he stood up. "Look after Keigo," he said as he took off where Chad had gone.

"Be careful Ichigo!" she called out to him. "If there is a hollow in that bird it's a smart one!"

* * *

The Shrieker grinned as he watched his prey run. The latest fool had proven far more durable than the others but that didn't matter he'd be dead before long. And just maybe he'd another taste of Shinigami. He couldn't help but lick his lips at the thought of such a delicious meal.

* * *

I gotta say I never liked the demi-hollow in the canon. It's suppose to be something between spirit and hollow yet it was just a normal spirit with half a hole. Rather unfitting of the name demi-hollow if you ask me so I changed them up a bit, making them looking like something between hollow and spirit.

And human possession, something they teased us with a couple times but never really showed so I decided to have some fun with it. Plus I liked bringing Keigo into one of Ichigo's early adventures even if he didn't do anything really. Well there are still some funny moments to be had with him.

Anyway that's all for now. Like it, hate it, push that review button and tell me.


	4. Chapter 3

Yo again everybody! Back with another chapter. I'm kind of a little annoyed that I haven't gotten more reviews but I've largely resigned myself to the fact that I won't be getting much until at the earliest the next couple of chapters or at the latest when I get to the second book and into the Soul Society Arc where some of the real fun is going to begin.

Anyway as always enjoy the show.

* * *

"Please mister please!" Yūichi pleaded. "You're in danger! You have to abandon me!"

"Don't worry about me," he replied. "My body can take it."

"But you don't understand! He's coming!"

Yasutora said nothing as he ran through the streets with Yūichi's birdcage. The truth was that ever since he had first taken Yūichi there had been this growing feeling that there was something following them, something causing the accidents that had harmed him and threatened others. Was it the same thing that had done…whatever that was to Keigo or was it something else?

"Chad!" Mizuiro called out, stopping the teen in his tracks as the boy ran up towards them.

"Mizuiro," Chad stammered, surprised by his appearance.

His friend had refused to leave him the moment he attempted to leave the school. So he purposely outran Mizuiro and had taken a different route back so that he wouldn't be in danger. But somehow he had found them and if there was something dangerous after them he was now in danger too.

"I thought I lost for awhile there," Mizuiro said, stopping in front of him. "And I see you got your bird back. We should head back before-"

"He's here!" Yūichi shrieked.

Suddenly something that felt like a giant arm slammed into his side, throwing him off his feet. Yūichi's cage clattered to the pavement alongside him. Chad looked up, searching for some sign of what attacked him but there was nothing there.

"…What just happened Chad?" Mizuiro nervously asked, his eyes darting back and forth.

Yasutora shook his head. "Get out of her—Aaagh!"

A large foot stomped down on him, cutting him off. However to his eyes there was nothing on him yet he could feel it slowly crushing him. "Chad!" Mizuiro shouted, wide-eyed in panic. "Are you al-"

But the same invisible force that was pinning him struck down his friend. Mizuiro crumbled into a heap on ground. Chad called out his friend, pushing back against the force pinning him. It was strong but not as strong as him, not when his friends were in danger. Roaring and pushing against the ground with everything he had Yasutora shot up to his feet, throwing the force off of him. He could hear and feel something large hitting the pavement behind him but he didn't stop, scooping up Yūichi before rushing over to Mizuiro and tossing him over his shoulder. With the two in his hands Chad took off down the street.

"Chad please put me down," Mizuiro said as he bounced up and down on his shoulder. "If this continues I'm going to throw up."

Yasutora shook his head. "Sorry. Can't."

* * *

Ichigo groaned in frustration as he leaped from rooftop to rooftop, looking for some sign of Chad and the bird but there was nothing. They could have gone anywhere and he didn't have the time to crawl over every square foot of town. He stopped on top of a small store, trying to think of a different approach. Maybe he could sense Chad's location with like with hollows or better yet he could try to sense the hollow that was undoubtedly stalking him. No that wouldn't work. Chad was like everyone else. Trying that would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. And the hollow seemed to be able to hide itself as neither he nor Rukia had noticed it before. So could he find Chad, the hollow or the spirit in the bird?

The Substitute Shinigami froze, the gears in his mind spinning in new directions. That was it! The spirit, Yūichi was in the body of a bird, two souls in one body. They would stand out like Keigo's and the demi-hollow's had though probably not as much but it was a start.

Ichigo closed his eyes, focusing on his sixth sense. The reiraku, spirit ribbons appeared around him, weaving and swaying as though they were alive. Nearly all of them, whether belonging to the living or dead were white. Some seemed bright and lively while most were muted and weary. He saw Rukia's ribbon, a muted red that only moved with the wind. She wasn't the one he was looking for. He needed to find Yūichi's ribbon.

"That's the one!" he shouted, reaching for the bright white ribbon coiled around a muted, thinner one.

The instant his fingers wrapped around it Ichigo felt a sensation of child-like innocent as well as heartbreaking sorrow and guilt. Somehow he knew that this ribbon was Yūichi's. The other ribbons faded away as others sprang up around the ribbon. Most were dull white but two of the closest to Yūichi were different. One was faded and black and has it brushed near his hand Ichigo could feel what could only describe as malevolence and evil radiating from it. The other…the second ribbon was strange. Like most of the others it was dull in color and moved lethargically in the air. But it wasn't like the other ribbons. It moved chaotically, twisting and curving in random patterns, its colors an ever-changing rainbow. But Ichigo ignored them; they didn't matter at the moment. Clutching Yūichi's ribbon he took off, sprinting towards the ribbon's source while praying that he wasn't too late.

* * *

"Please Chad, I can run on my own," Mizuiro implored as he continued to bounce on his shoulder. "Besides people are starting to stare."

While that was true Yasutora didn't care. Let everyone stare and think he was weird if that meant that they escaped from that thing. He turned a corner, entering a residential area. It was pretty empty given the time of day. The only other people he could see were a pair of painters on a scaffolding in front of a house. But at least there was no sign of their invisible attacker.

_BAM!_

Chad stopped in his tracks; Mizuiro had stopped moving while Yūichi was screaming even louder. "Chad…" his friend uttered, his voice filled with fear. "You better start running again. _Now_!"

Before he could react a car with its roof caved flew over his head, crashing onto the street a few feet in front of them. It was a clear message to him; there was no escaping it. The sounds of the car being destroyed had drawn the attention of the painters, both of whom were staring at them. "What the hell's going on?" one of them shouted. "What happened to that car?"

As if to answer their question the roof of another car suddenly caved in as though something large had crashed into it. Upon seeing that both men took off, climbing off the scaffolding at a surprising speed before running away without their van.

"Mizuiro hold onto Yūichi and stay back," Chad said as he set the two of them on the ground.

"What are you going to do?" Mizuiro asked, lifting up the bird cage.

"What I always do," he replied, cautiously approaching the damaged car.

With a roar he swung a right hook in the area around the side of the car. He managed to graze something but that was it. Another invisible fist collided with him, knocking him back a few steps. Chad lashed out at where the blow had come from only to make contact with nothing before being struck again. This time it felt like he was being forcibly poked in the chest by two large fingers. It was a mocking blow but it also gave him an opening. Thrusting his right fist upwards, Chad delivered an uppercut with everything he had to his unseen attacker. His hand met something solid.

A sudden, short gust of wind struck him, ruffling his clothes but nothing else. Several seconds passed and nothing happened. Yasutora frantically looked around for some sign of their attacker but there was nothing. Had he managed to scare it off?

"Look out!" Yūichi screamed in terror.

A split second later something big and fast slammed into him with the force of a freight train. Chad was thrown into the air before crashing and rolling across the pavement. It hadn't left. Bruised, battered and a little bloodied but otherwise alright Chad quickly climbed back up to his feet. The moment he stood up he raised his arms defensively, watching even the slightest of signs. Again it slammed into him but this time from behind. And once again Chad rose back up. He was not about to let this thing beat him. Readying his body for the next blow he raised his fists again.

Suddenly Mizuiro appeared, lunging in front of him and throwing an open can of paint. White paint flew out from the can, striking not the ground but something else entirely. It coated parts of the head and upper body of what Chad could only call a monster floating before him. There wasn't enough paint for him to get a clear picture of what exactly it was but there was enough to give him a clear target. Driving his fist forward with all the power he had Chad punched the momentarily stunned monster square in the face. The monster's face was surprisingly hard but flexible at the same time. As their attacker crumbled backwards from the force of his punch Chad glanced over at his friend. "Mizuiro? Could you see it?"

"Not in the slightest," the shorter boy casually replied. "But I could just barely hear its movement. Figured if it could hit us and you could hit it something like paint could stick to it. Plus your bird seems to be able to see it just fine."

The monster got back up and slammed it's still invisible fists into the street. Chad could tell from the way it held itself that it was pissed off which was good for them. A pissed off opponent was more likely make a mistake.

"Chad," Mizuiro called out, a look of concern on his face as he held his left thigh. "Something hit my leg and it's still there."

A grin stretched across the monster's odd face and its mouth opened up. There was a popping sound followed immediately by Mizuiro's screams as he collapsed to the ground. For a moment all Yasutora could do was watch his friend in stunned silence as he clutched his bleeding leg. But before he could offer any kind of help something small struck his right shoulder and clung to it. This was the thing that had hurt Mizuiro. An instant later there was a pop and pain lanced through his shoulder as it was shredded. He cried out in pain and fell to one knee. It hurt like hell but it wasn't enough to keep him down. Slowly Chad rose back up, ready for more.

As if on cue more of the small objects struck his body and exploded. Agony consumed his body as tears opened up all over his body. Yūichi and Mizuiro were screaming his name but it sounded more like whispers. He fell to his hands and knees, blood pouring from his body. The monster approached, leering over him with a look of sadistic glee on its paint covered face. It was over, he couldn't beat this thing and now it was going to kill him, Mizuiro and Yūichi.

Suddenly something slammed into the monster from above, driving it back and into the air. "I'm sorry for being late Chad."

"Ichigo…"

* * *

Ichigo scowled in anger as he looked around at his friends. Chad was a mess, bloody gashes covering his body. That he was still stand was a testament to his incredible physical endurance. Mizuiro was on the ground, his face pale and bruised while his hands were clutching his bloody leg. "I should have been faster," he said with a sigh. "But don't worry I'm going to take care of that thing once and for all."

The hollow had gotten back, standing hunched over on its hands and feet like a frog. It was an ugly one though the paint really didn't help it. There were folded flaps that looked wings on its long arms. Its mask had a huge forehead, a leering grin and nostrils that looked something off a pig. But it wasn't alone. There was a dozen or so of these small, big headed lizards around it. "**What are you boy?**" it said, sniffing the air loudly. "**You smell like a Shinigami and you got one their swords but you're a human.**"

"I'm a Substitute Shinigami," Ichigo replied, leveling his already drawn sword at the hollow.

"**A Substitute?**" The hollow started to chuckle, a deep and wicked laugh. "**Well I got news for you kid I've already killed two **_**real**_** Shinigami. What chance do you have against me?**"

He swung his sword at it but the hollow was faster, jumping back from the blade before grabbing it with its hand. "**You're the boy that slew that pathetic bitch,**" it said. "**I'm gonna miss her you know. Making her suffer like that reminded me of my old days.**"

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked, perplexed by the hollow's comment.

The hollow chuckled some more. "**Back when I was alive I was famous. Everyone was talking about me and all the people I killed,**" it said, sounding absolutely giddy. "**The media even dubbed me the 'Naruki Slasher'. Oh those were the days. Sure the Shinigami call me now the Shrieker but it isn't quite the same.**"

A serial killer? This hollow had been a serial killer? He had never really thought about what happened to guys like that when they died. Not that it really mattered. If anything it made his job easier as this wasn't Orihime's brother, an innocent person turned into a monster. This was monster through and through.

"**Then I found the brat's mother. She was a stubborn one. Kept on trying to fight me off while shielding that little brat of hers,**" the hollow snarled in disgust. "**Finally I managed to off her on the balcony and you know what happened next? That little bastard tripped me and I fell over the railing!**"

Ichigo felt his blood boil. This bastard had…had…

"**After that I was dead and pissed off. All my hard work and fame were gone! Wiped out by a scrawny brat!**" the Shrieker sneered. "**But I figured out a sweet little plan. I approached the boy and told some stupid sob story about his mother being in terrible danger and that only he could save her. So I yanked out his soul and put it in the parakeet and he's been running with me ever since. I even promised that I could bring her back to life if he could help me eat ninety-nine souls.**"

The bright haired teen froze, absorbing what the hollow had said. "Could you really bring her back to life?"

"**Of course not you fool,**" the Shrieker sneered. "**No** **one can bring the dead back to life.**"

Ichigo couldn't help but curse his foolishness. Of course the dead couldn't come back to life. Life was life and death was death, it couldn't be undone and reversed. But that this bastard would trick an innocent child like that was sick, depraved and vile. For that alone this bastard deserved death. With a roar he pulled his zanpakutō from the Shrieker's grasp, cutting its palm in the process. "Bastard!" he screamed, swinging his blade horizontally at the hollow.

The Shrieker leapt back, evading the weapon with ease. "**Aw…and I was just getting to the best part too. Don't you at least want to hear about it?"** it said. **"Everyone that tried to help him was just another meal for me. And their screams…oh I loved it. After a while the runt would get all upset and try to back out but all I had to do was say, 'But what about mommy? She's counting on you to save her.' He ate that crap up every single time.**"

This depraved monster had played on the sorrow of a little boy who had lost his mother for its own cruel desires. "I'm going make you pay for that," Ichigo coldly said before he took off, charging the hollow with his sword.

The Shrieker laughed as the tiny lizards started spewing out pink worm-like leeches. They struck his body and clung to him, stopping his attack. "**Time for some fireworks!**" the hollow yelled, sticking out its tongue.

Its appendage was long with a strange hole near the end that extended all the way to the tip, like a forked tongue. The two ends of the tongue clicked together and the leeches on his body exploded. Ichigo staggered back and fell to a knee, blood pouring from his wounds. So that's how it hurt Chad and Mizuiro.

"**And that wasn't all that happened Substitute Shinigami,**" the Shrieker continued with glee. "**You see not long after I put the brat in the bird his bitch of mother showed up, trying to rescue him. Naturally I stopped her. Didn't kill her though. It was too much fun watching her squirm. Then you went and offed her just as she was getting fun to watch. And they say I'm cruel.**"

Yūichi let out a heartbreaking wail as Ichigo's eyes widened, realizing just what had happened to the demi-hollow. It had been the Yūichi's mother this whole time. She had been trying to protect her son after death but because of this monster's actions she was only to able to watch as her son was forced to help kill innocent people. The horror and sorrow of that turned her into that demi-hollow and if he hadn't stopped her she would have eventually become a full hollow. And throughout all of this he got off on it like the sick freak it was. "I see," Ichigo calmly said, rising back to his feet without so much as a thought to his injuries. "Then I'm going to put you down like the animal you are!"

He took off again, evading the flying leeches with ease earning a yelp of surprise from the hollow. The truth was he had let the Shrieker attack him to gauge what he could do as what kind of beast it was. It jumped back in an attempt to avoid him but he was faster, thrusting his left fist forward. He smashed through the teeth of the Shrieker's mask and grabbed its tongue. The hollow gasped, staring at him in panic. With a yank Ichigo pulled the appendage out through the hole in the mask and hacked it off with his sword. The Shrieker screamed, the bloody stump of its tongue flailing in its open mouth. "Let's see you use those leeches without this," Ichigo spat, throwing the tongue on the ground.

"**You little bastard!**" it roared in pain and anger. "**You haven't beaten yet!**"

It lashed out at him with its large hands but he dived under the limbs and drove his sword into the Shrieker's right leg, piercing it just below its knee before cutting into the pavement. "**My leg! My leg!**" it howled as it tried to free itself but it was no good the hollow was pinned.

"Now you can't move or use your bomb-leeches. You're helpless," Ichigo said, his voice calm but laden with anger while maintaining an iron grip on his sword. "Feels bad, doesn't it? That's what all your victims felt!"

The Shrieker's eyes were filled with terror and panic as it struggled against the sword pinning it. In desperation its hands wrapped around it leg just above the wound and pulled, tearing off the limb and freeing itself. But it didn't stay or attempt to attack him; instead it took to the air to escape. Ichigo pulled out his weapon from the severed leg and jumped into the air after it. "Fear's a terrible thing. It makes you want to hack off your own leg to escape it," he said, closing in on it, his blade raised above his head. "Don't forget it! Drive that fear deep into your brain and disappear from this world!"

Roaring he slashed down, slicing through the Shrieker's left forearm and wing. With the limb the hollow couldn't maintain its flight and fell, crashing to the pavement below. Satisfied that the Shrieker wasn't going anywhere Ichigo dropped down, landing beside it. The hollow struggled to climb up on its two remaining limbs. "**Damn…damn you…you little boy,**" the Shrieker cursed. "**You're not even a true Shinigami! How could you beat me? I've killed Shinigami so could a runt like you do this to me?**"

Ichigo ignored him, readying his weapon for the final blow. "This is for my friends, for all the people you've hurt, and for Yūichi and his mother!" he roared as he swung his sword down on the hollow's head.

The large blade sliced down through the top of the Shrieker's mask, cutting into his left eye. The hollow howled in agony as green light erupted from the hole in his mask, the force of the energy throwing Ichigo and his zanpakutō back. The Shrieker started to flail wildly in the air yet he was somehow frozen in place. There was a loud rumbling as a massive gate rose seamlessly from the ground. On each door of the gate was the upper body of a skeleton. Both were joined together at the shoulder and had bandages covering the tops of their heads and an eye. Above their heads were several short chains bolted across the seam between the doors.

Suddenly he chains started breaking one by one and as the last of them snapped the gates slid apart, crimson light pouring out. A pair of glowing yellow eyes appeared from within the gate, staring down at the Shrieker. Suddenly a massive sword tore through the hollows chest, a sword being held by an equally large arm. A loud, deep laughter echoed out of the gates, sending a shiver down Ichigo's spine. "What is that?" he uttered, watching things play out with a mixture of surprise, confusion and a small amount of fear.

"When a zanpakutō slays a hollow it purifies the soul they were of all the sins they committed as a hollow," Rukia said, appearing at his side. "But it does not absolve a soul of the sins they committed in life. Those who have done truly wicked acts in life are sent to another place, Hell."

"**NOOOOOOOOOOOO!**" the Shrieker screamed in utter, primal terror as the hand drew back into the gate, pulling him with it.

As soon as the tip of the blade slipped behind the gates they slammed shut and withdrew back into the ground. For a moment all Ichigo could do is stare at the spot where the Shrieker had been before being dragged off. "So there really is a Hell?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"You didn't think that criminals were sent to the same place as everyone else, did you?" Rukia replied.

Ichigo just shrugged his shoulders, turning back to her. Then that monster was right where he belonged. "How's Keigo?"

"I stabilized his injuries and called a…" She paused for a moment, searching for the right word. "An ambulance? Is that what they're called?"

"Yeah. That's good," he said, nodding his head. "Do you have enough energy left to tend to Chad and Mizuiro?"

"Not really unless they're in danger of dying," Rukia answered, eyeing his two injured friends.

They were banged up alright but Mizuiro looked like he just needed some stitches and bandages for his leg while Chad was…well Chad. Even though he was the worse out of the two of them he was already back on his feet, holding Yūichi's bird cage. If he didn't need her immediate help, none of them did. "Nah. Don't worry about it. You've done enough. But I suppose we better take care of Yūichi now too."

Rukia nodded her head in agreement. "That would be best. He's been removed from his body for too long. He can't go back," she grimly said.

"It doesn't matter now," Yūichi quietly said, sounding absolutely heartbroken. "My mommy is gone."

"No she's not. I sent her on to the Soul Society," Ichigo replied, approaching the boy. "She's there waiting for you right now."

Despite being in the body of a bird Yūichi's lit up with hope, the kind of look that only a child could have. "R-really?"

Ichigo couldn't help but smile. "Yeah."

* * *

Standing on a telephone pole she silently watched as the Masked-Touched teen said his good bye to the soul in the parakeet before Kurosaki sent it to the afterlife and the weakened Shinigami erased the memories of the two teens. Multiple possessions, both animal and human, a rampaging, dead serial killer and an opening of the Gates of Hell, all and all a rather messy situation for one so young. Yet he had endured and overcome it all with surprising speed. Even her most recent projections were quickly becoming obsolete.

She pulled out an old gold pocket watch and started to wind it up. Things were speeding up, deviating from their projected timetable. But it was of little consequence in the long run. The plans were flexible, ready for any conceivable complication that could arise. However if nothing else Kurosaki's boy was getting _interesting_. Prior to Kurosaki there had been no known child born of a Shinigami and a living human. That alone made him and his siblings fascinating subjects of study. Of course with Isshin and prior to her death, Misaki around her ability to study the children were far more limited than she would have liked. They had wanted to the children to grow up 'normal' which was their prerogative but it was utterly foolish. Such children could never be what the small blind people of the world considered 'normal,' her observations had proven that a hundred times over.

Kurosaki had been able to see ghosts from the moment he had been born and his own spiritual pressure had risen dramatically over the course of his short life. It wasn't just the sheer mass of his spiritual pressure that was beyond the norms but the speed at which it had risen as well. His growth was unprecedented even for a living human. He was becoming what could only be called a living storm of spiritual energy, a storm that was affecting those around him even if he himself was not aware of it.

His sisters on the other hand were more in line with the typical Class Two human with the spark of what they had mostly dormant for the time being but could become active at any moment, a pair of half-awake Sleepers on the cusp of Awakening to the True World to use the fanciful words of her less enlightened 'colleagues'. While the older of the two had the most basic of visual sense of spirits and other entities the younger of the two could see spirits on the level of most sensitive humans as well as possessing a rudimentary psychometric power. There was a high probability that had the girl come into contact with the spirit she would have picked up glimpses of its past.

"Hey Rukia," Kurosaki called out. "Have you ever seen a rainbow colored spirit ribbon?"

"What? There's no such thing a rainbow colored spirit ribbon," the Shinigami replied.

Kurosaki shook his head and began to focus his senses. "There is and it's right here."

"Sorry Kurosaki but that just won't do," the woman said, pausing briefly from winding her watch as the face of it started to glow gold.

The ribbon he sought vanished completely from even his senses. "Huh? Where'd it go? It was right here."

"I told you Ichigo," the Shinigami said, shaking her head.

The boy was becoming more perceptive. But was it because of his heritage or was it because of the Shinigami powers he had gained? Regardless of the answer this was not the time for him to start finding out about things that even the Thirteen Court Guard Squads did not know of. Besides it could potentially ruin her own private project and she could not have that happening. Yet at this moment his passive involvement was still necessary. That and Urahara's own interest in the boy left her currently unable to _remove_ him from the situation.

Regardless she had lingered far too long in Karakura. There matters elsewhere that required her attention. She stopped winding her watch and clasped it shut, disappearing from Karakura Town, from Tokyo and from the country itself.

* * *

"So how are your friends?" Tatsuki asked as the two of them walked home together.

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. It had been a long, long since the two of them had walked home together and it felt good. He had never really realized how far apart they had drifted during middle school. They had been best friends since they were little kids practicing karate in Furin Hall. Back in those days she had kicked his ass most of the time…well actually virtually all the time and she still stood at the top of the short list of people he didn't want to get into a fight with. A friendly spar was alright but not a full on fight. Yeah he had beaten her the last couple of times they fought but it was always by narrow margins and it always annoyed her when she lost to him.

Yet when they reached middle school and he left Furin they drifted apart from each other. Thugs and punks started going after him increasing with frequency, leading to him meeting Chad while Tatsuki gravitated towards Orihime and other girls. From there they just started hanging out less and less. Now most of his interactions with her were at school. They just never really hung out together anymore. He had to say that it was nice to be hanging out with her again. "Mizuiro and Chad are already out of the hospital and Keigo will be out in another day or two," he replied.

"That thing really did a number on them," Tatsuki idly commented.

"Yeah but it's gone now," Ichigo said with a slight nod of his head. "Upset that you weren't involved?"

His childhood friend shot him a questioning look. "A crazed spirit possessing that loudmouth Asano and a serial killer hollow? Nah. I'd rather not get involved in craziness like that though it would have been cool to have seen that talking parakeet."

The bright haired teen couldn't help but chuckle. Spirits, hollows, werewolves and possessions all in the span of less than two weeks, craziness was being to become a part of his daily life. A part of him wondered if this was what it was like for a normal Shinigami or if he was somehow a magnet for crazy stuff. Hopefully it wasn't the latter. "Yeah it was something different alright," he said. "But it was kind of creepy too. When I first saw I got this feeling like it wasn't supposed to be."

"Technically it wasn't. A human soul isn't supposed to be in a bird's body."

Ichigo couldn't deny her logic yet there was something else, something about the sight of Yūichi that unsettled him from the beginning. "Yeah but…well you had to be there to feel it."

Tatsuki paused, frowning and closing her eyes as she placed her hand on the spot between her eyes. "Something wrong Tatsuki?" Ichigo asked, eyeing her with a bit of concern.

"Just a headache," she answered, shrugging him off. "I've been getting them a lot lately." She put her hand down and turned to him. "So where's Rukia?"

"She said she was going to resupply."

Tatsuki cocked an eyebrow at him. "Resupply? Where would a powerless Shinigami resupply?"

* * *

"Let's see…" Kisuke Urahara said as he studied the read out from her Denreishinki. "Three low ranked hollows slain, standard fee, no bonuses. But the Shrieker…that was one nasty piece of work. Killed two Shinigami before your friend Kurosaki took him out. There's a five thousand Kan bonus on him."

Rukia had expected as much. Fishbone D, Hexipodas, Sora Inoue had all be young hollows with maybe two years of being hollows between the three of them. The Shrieker was different from them simply because of the soul he had been in life. Wicked men gave rise to horrible hollows and the Shrieker had been no expectation to that rule. That it had killed two of her few Shinigami with only a year or so of existence under his belt was testament to its vile cunning and depravity rather its own power.

"Have you gotten those things I ordered yet?" she asked.

The scruffy shopkeeper just grinned. "Just arrived last night Miss Kuchiki." He turned to the little girl that on his staff. "Ururu, would you please go and get Miss Kuchiki's order."

"Yes sir," the short girl said, bowing her head before leaving the room.

"Anything else?" Urahara asked as he turned back to her.

"I need a recharge on my memory modifier as well sixty tablets of Somafixer Internal Soul-fixing medicine and a power cell for my Denreishinki," Rukia answered, pulling out the modifier from the pocket of her uniform and handing it over to him.

The device had been used far more than she had ever expected. Normally it was used to cover up destruction caused by particularly powerful hollows and on those humans attacked directly by hollows. Usually those charges would only be used a couple of times during a month long assignment yet she had ended up depleting it in two weeks on Ichigo's friends and family. It seemed almost like Ichigo's large spiritual pressure was drawing hollows to him and those around him. While this made things safer for those deceased souls still residing in Karakura as well as quicker and easier for them to slay hollows it was having harmful effects on those around him. She would have to talk to Ichigo about working on suppressing his immense spiritual pressure.

"What grade?" Urahara asked, unplugging her Denreishinki.

"The cheapest."

The shopkeeper just shrugged his shoulders. "It's your funeral."

At that moment Ururu returned, holding a pair of wrapped items. "Here you go Mister Urahara," she said, handing them over to her boss.

"One Intoku and one Gikongan," Urahara said, giving them to her.

She put the Intoku, the Concealer into her pocket before she started to unwrap the Gikongan container. To her disappointment, it wasn't the one she wanted. "Hey! I wanted Chappy!"

"Well Chappy is the most popular model which makes it hard to get," Urahara replied, his tone completely unapologetic. "Besides what do you need with one anyway?"

While she was currently powerless it would only be a matter of time before she recovered her powers and when she did she would need to be able to leave her Gigai. "When my powers have recovered I'll need it."

"Fair enough," Urahara replied with a chuckle. "So shall I put this on your tab or are you going to actually pay this time?"

* * *

"So the day after tomorrow…" Tatsuki finally said, approaching a subject that neither of them wanted to talk about.

For a moment Ichigo said nothing, just staring down his street. The day after tomorrow was _the_ day. "Yeah…"

"Give her my respects," Tatsuki said, walking off towards the street she lived on, leaving him alone.

'_Mom…'_

* * *

Yeah I've changed up the order of things a bit. Kon's going to appear after the Grand Fisher for a couple of reasons though mostly because I feel that after a heavy chapter like that we need something to liven things up a bit. And I've unveiled a hint of things to come down the road, when things get quite _interesting_.

As always like it, hate it let me know with a review.


	5. Chapter 4

Yo everybody, back again with another chapter for your enjoyment.

But before I begin I would like to address the comment of an anonymous reviewer. He commented about my bad habit of not finishing stories and I completely understand. My page is full of unfinished works and concern over that is warranted. However I will be trying hardest to finish this series. And that's one of the big reasons I'm dividing this series into a story per arc rather than having a single nonstop story encompassing all the Bleach arcs. That way I can write an arc and take break before I get overwhelmed or worn out by it without feeling like I'm abandoning it.

Also another major difference from most of those is that I've had many of the core ideas of my Bleach series for years, allowing me to refine and perfect it over time. Most of the other stories I've posted have had considerable less development time, ranging anywhere from a week to maybe two months between when I first came up with the idea and posted the first chapter. I'm far more likely to finish something that I have taken the time to properly developed over time than something I've come up with on the spur of the moment.

Anyway enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Tatsuki quietly sighed as she sat cross-legged on the edge of her bed, Orihime sitting on the other end. Her friend had been curious as to why Ichigo hadn't been in school today as she said he wouldn't. It wasn't a pleasant story or even one that she should be telling to her but she need Orihime. Her curiosity would drive her to seek out the answer and eventually she would ask Ichigo and when she learned what happened she greatly regret asking Ichigo about it.

"I met him when we were four at the dojo we used to go to," Tatsuki said, starting the story at the beginning. "He had the brightest hair and the biggest smile I had ever seen. And his mother… she was beautiful and he was always holding her hand."

As she spoke Tatsuki couldn't help but smile. Those early years had been… great for the lack of a better word. She and Ichigo had quickly become best friends and their families had become close in those years. Ichigo's father, Isshin had even taken to calling her his other child. However that didn't last too long after she called him Goatface and kicked him in the shin. But she did allow Karin and Yuzu to call her big sister. "Back then he was scrawny and always smiling. He was a total wimp if you can believe that. Whenever he lost he started crying," she continued, remembering just how soft he had been back then. "In fact I was the first one to make him cry at the dojo. All it took was a single bop on the head. The second I hit him he started bawling his eyes out. But as soon as his mother came in to pick him up that big smile of his would return."

Tatsuki leaned back, her smile beginning to fade. "I always hated that," she admitted. "I mean what kind of boy smiles when he loses? Whenever I'd see that grin of his I'd always think 'What a baby clinging to his mommy'. But he was always so happy back then." She paused, putting a hand on her forehead, knowing the tragedy of what had happened. "But then she died…"

* * *

"What are you doing here Rukia?" Ichigo asked, sitting down on a large rock.

For reasons completely beyond him she had shown up at cemetery and immediately greeted him with that fake, overly cheerful grin and voice. He couldn't help but wonder if she had any respect, tact or common sense. Hadn't he explained to her that this was a family matter? And for that matter who in their right mind was _that_ cheerful at a cemetery? He couldn't help but wonder for what had to be at least the fifteenth or sixteenth time if it was just Rukia that was strange or if the Soul Society was that was strange.

"And just what else was I supposed to do today?" Rukia replied. "Hang out in your empty house all day? Go to your school for the day?"

Yeah… it probably wouldn't have been smart to have her alone at Karakura High as she was still trying to get her head around daily life here. After all she had only just conquered the juicebox yesterday. Without him to explain things and cover for her when she said or did something stupid she'd probably caused some kind of incident before the day was done. And knowing his luck somehow he'd end up getting blamed for it.

"Besides if a hollow showed up you'd be useless without my help," she added, crossing her arms.

"Says the powerless Shinigami who's relying on me to do her job," Ichigo replied, earning a scowl from Rukia.

She did not like that at all, a vein twitching in her forehead as she glared at him. Rukia could glare all she wanted to it wouldn't change the fact that it was the truth. The dark haired Shinigami turned away from him, clearing her throat while shooting one last dirty look at him. "Away there was something I've been wondering about."

"And that is?"

"Well if you've been able to see spirits since an early age and given that you have attracted hollows in the past, could a hollow have killed your mother?"

Ichigo vigorously shook his head. "No."

"Yesterday you said your mother was killed."

"You're wrong," Ichigo replied, mentally cursing that she had picked up on that slip of the tongue.

"But Ichigo you yourself have admitted to seeing spirits for as long as you can remember so it's possible that even back then hollows could have been drawn to you," Rukia insisted, refusing to let the matter die.

"No it wasn't a hollow Rukia. So just drop it," he shot back.

The girl shook her head. "Ichigo, you and I both know that a hollow will attack and eat anyone that gets in the way of a soul it wants to eat. If a hollow came after you it could have-"

Something snapped inside of him, anger and pain filling him from within. "It wasn't a hollow alright! It was me!" Ichigo shouted at her, his voice cracking. "She died because of me!"

The wretched memories of that rain filled day raced through his mind and he took off, unable to stand being in her presence anymore.

* * *

"C'mon don't cry Yuzu," Karin Kurosaki said, an arm wrapped around the shoulder of her twin in an attempt to comfort her as they stood before their mother's grave. "You're getting to big to cry every time we come here."

Water filled Yuzu's eyes, threatening to fall at any moment. "I know but…but…" she uttered, her voice cracking as the tears started to fall.

Karin said nothing, pulling her sister into a hug. Her twin quickly returned the hug, burying her tear covered cheeks into her shoulder. The two of them had gone ahead of Ichigo and their father to pay their respects to mom. It was kind of a tradition for them. They would visit mom then Ichigo would and finally their father would. After that they would have a picnic and head home. All of it, even Yuzu's crying was all of their yearly ritual. The only different thing about today was that girl showing up.

Apparently the girl was some classmate of Ichigo's though obviously not one of his friends like Tatsuki, Chad, Mizuiro and that loud mouth Asano were otherwise she wouldn't be here. That gaga face of hers, that overly happy voice and the fact that she had follow Ichigo all the way here to a cemetery could only mean one thing, she had a serious crush on him and was stalking him. And of course Ichigo was about as oblivious to a girl's feelings as their father was to the idea of how a sane adult acted. Half the girls in his class could be crushing on him and he'd never realize that even _one _had feelings for him. Clearly he was incapable of dealing with the stalker. Maybe she'd call Tatsuki when they got home and talk to her about scaring the girl off.

The sound of a whistle being blown filled the air, pulling Karin from her thoughts. Undoubtedly it was their father blowing on another of his stupid whistles. The man had about two dozen whistles of various shapes and sizes, all of which were intended for little children. "Sounds like dad's calling us," Karin said as she broke the hug. "C'mon we better get going."

Yuzu sniffled a few times before nodding her head in agreement. Together they started to walk back the way they came. That's when Karin saw her, a girl, probably as young as they were standing over a steep edge of the hill. "Who's that?" Karin pondered out loud.

Her twin blinked her eyes and turned her head back and forth, trying to see who she saw. "Who? I don't see anyone."

Karin internally groaned. Great, yet another ghost. Though considering they were in a cemetery it wasn't all that surprising, not that she believed in them. "It's just a ghost. Figures," she grumbled as they walked.

The ghost girl turned to her, staring at her in surprise. "You can see me?" she asked.

"Yeah I can but don't tell anyone, it's embarrassing," Karin dryly replied.

"And you can hear me too," the ghost said, smile spreading across her lips.

Karin cocked an eyebrow at the girl, puzzled by her odd. "Yeah."

The ghost's smile changed into a leering, hungry grin that instantly sent a shiver down Karin's spine. "How wonderful," she said, a dark shadow appearing behind her.

The shadow grew and grew until it towered over them, the shape of a face forming its center. "**How wonderful you smell,**" a deeper and monstrous voice added. "**And how wonderful you must taste.**"

* * *

"We were nine when it happened and even then he was still clinging to his mother's side like a baby monkey. But then there was the accident and she died. Everything changed after that," Tatsuki explained.

Orihime was silent. They both knew there was nothing she could say. "He stopped going to school for a while and I went looking for him one afternoon," she continued. "I found him at the river where his mother died. He had a backpack on and was just walking along the river's banks. From morning to night he would walk along the banks, like he was searching for her." Tatsuki paused, a small bit of water forming in the corners of her eyes. "I hated seeing him like that."

For moment, she was nine again and standing on the banks of the Karasu River, watching Ichigo wandering. But she knew far more now about Ichigo and the dead than she did back then. "Even back then there were stories that Ichigo could see ghosts. At the time I didn't think much of it but looking back on it I think he wanted to find her and apologize."

"Apologize?"

Tatsuki hung her head, her arms falling onto her lap. "I know Ichigo. Even though it wasn't his fault he still blames himself for it."

* * *

Trees, bushes and gravestones passed by in a blur as Ichigo continued to run. But no matter how fast or how far he ran he could never escape the memories. His mother, the center of his universe, the center of his family's universe had died because of him. It wasn't a hollow like Rukia had suggested or some random stranger, _he_ had killed her.

_He saw her, a girl not much older than him standing on a hill overlooking the river. The girl stared longingly at moving water below her, oblivious to rain falling on her. His eyes widened as the realization of what she was doing dawned on him. She was going to jump!_

Ichigo grimaced as he remembered what happened next.

_He broke away from his mother's grip, calling out as he ran to the girl. His mother shouted his name, screaming for him to stop. Just as he was about to reach the girl she jumped and faded away._

_The last thing he saw was a flash of light before darkness took him…_

Tears began to form in the corners of Ichigo's eyes.

_Slowly his eyes opened, the world returning to him. The sky overcast sky greeted him, the rain having dropped to a drizzle. "Mommy…" he whispered, trying to remember what had happened._

_He started to sit up, only to realize that there was a heavy weight on his body stopping him. He looked down and gasped in horror. It was his mother, lying limply onto of him, blood covering her back. "Mommy! Mommy!" he screamed, shaking her body, trying to wake her._

_But his mother would never wake up again._

There had been no hollow; just ghost that he had thought was a living girl who was in danger. And when he had tried to live up to his name he had gotten his mother killed. To blame on a hollow was the coward's way out. It was his fault and no one else's.

Suddenly he stopped, feeling a malevolent presence appearing nearby. It was a kind of presence he had grown quite familiar with, a hollow's. A hollow had come to the cemetery, the cemetery where the rest of his family was.

"Ichigo!" Rukia called out, finally catching up with him. "Ichigo, there's a-"

"I know," he replied, summoning his Shinigami powers.

* * *

Karin cried out as the blurred, shadowy monster's foot pressed down on her, her sister and the ghost watching on. Yuzu looked absolutely terrified, seeing her pinned by an invisible force as well the cracks its heavy feet had made on the stone path. "Run!" she screamed.

But her twin was frozen in fear, allowing the monster to reach out with some kind of tendril and grab Yuzu by the neck. Karin could only watch in horror as Yuzu lifted up into the air, gasping for breath as tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"**This little brat's spirit is pitifully weak,**" the monster spoke. "**She wouldn't even make decent appetizer. No matter. Once she's down my gullet it will be time for the main course.**"

Karin yelled out and started fighting back against the monster but it was too big and too strong. "**Be quiet girl,**" the monster snapped, pushing down on her with incredible force.

The force pushed the air out of her lungs but wouldn't let her inhale. Stars filled her eyes and the world became a collection of blurred colors as the realization that she was going to die dawned on her. It utterly terrified her.

'_Please... someone, anyone save us!'_

Suddenly a blur descended on the tentacle, slicing it in two. Yuzu and the severed limb fell but didn't hit the ground, the blur catching her. Before Karin could react the blur dove forward, striking the limb that was pinning her down. The weight disappeared from her as the foot was severed from the monster and she was lifted off the ground.

With her last ounce of strength Karin looked up at her savior before she passed out.

'_Ichigo…'_

* * *

The hollow howled as it clutched the bloody stump of its limb but the hollow was right now the least of Ichigo's concerns. Both Yuzu and Karin were unconscious, their bodies bruised and battered but they were still breathing. He needed to get them somewhere safe and time was of the essence. Unfortunately the best he could do was get them to the edge of a nearby wooded area, placing them gently against a large rock before the hollow was back for more.

Yet as soon as he turned back to the hollow something else drew his attention, the little girl standing next to it. He knew her, he had seen her before. "You!" he exclaimed. "You were there six years ago!"

"Six years ago? What are you talking about?" the girl calmly replied.

Ichigo shook his head. It was just like with the Shrieker and Yūichi. He turned to the fur covered hollow, leveling his sword at it. "How long have you been using that girl as your slave?! Six years? Ten?"

The hollow started to chuckle, a deep booming laugh that was joined by a lighter shriller laugh. It was the laughter of the girl. "**Girl? You think that this is a girl?**" the two said in perfect unison.

The top of the girl's head slip open along an invisible seam, hair and skin peeling back like tightly drawn tarp being pulled off, revealing her skull and circular hole at the top of it. A fleshy tendril erupted from the hole and flew up into the top of the hollow's head, connecting the two like a giant umbilical cord. The second they were connected the girl flew up into the air, her skin and dress peeling off into two long tails and revealing _its_ true form; a limbless, vaguely skeletal form. "**This is no pathetic little soul, this is my lure!**"

Horror and realization dawned upon Ichigo, his sword dropping. It was lure… what he had seen that terrible day was a lure. "A lure? Then…then… _you_ killed her! You killed my mother!"

The hollow somehow managed a shrug. "**You'll have to forgive me. Six years is a long time and I've consumed many women over the years so you can't expect me to remember them all.**"

Ichigo roared, lunging at the hollow. He swung his sword downward only for it to be caught by the hollow's left hand. Suddenly its severed right arm started to grow back, striking him with the force of a cannonball. He was pushed back by the blow but managed to remain standing and holding his zanpakutō. Regeneration, now that was a new trick. Ichigo gritted his teeth, gripping his sword with both hands. "You got a name ugly."

"It's the Grand Fisher," Rukia said as appeared from the woods, holding up her phone. "This one's a real low life. For over fifty years the Fisher has been killing people and Shinigami. It hides while using that lure to draw victims out. If a human sees it, the Fisher knows they have higher than normal spiritual energy and it eats them while if a Shinigami attempts konsō on the lure the Fisher will ambush them."

The Fisher started to chuckle again. "**What can I say? You Shinigami are a truly pathetic and stupid bunch. How else do you keep on falling for the same trick?**"

"You're a coward, cowering in the bushes until you can stab them in back," Ichigo snapped, somehow even more disgusted and enraged by this foul hollow. "I bet you can't even fight worth a damn."

"**Impudent little punk,**" the Fisher snarled, lashing at him with tentacles that emerged from the holes in its mask.

Ichigo hacked two off with a swing of his sword, sliced a third and mangled a forth on the backswing but the last two managed to get in before he could counter. One wrapped around his sword arm, the other around his waist. He fought back, trying to pry them off him but their steel grip was like a boa constrictor, strong and tight.

"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man!" Rukia started to chant, her hands held out in front of her. "Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash-"

"No!" Ichigo shouted at her. "Stay out of this Rukia, this is my fight!"

For a moment Rukia stared at him, warring between ignoring his order or accepting it. But in the end, she relented and lowered her arms before stepping back. Ichigo nodded as he turned back to the hollow. "Make sure my sisters are alright Rukia," he grunted as he continued to fight.

Somehow he managed to twist the blade of sword into the tentacle around his arm, slowly cutting into it while his other hand grabbed onto the one around his waist, digging his fingers into it. The Fisher snarled and gnashed the teeth of its mask as blood started to flow from both its appendages. Grinning in satisfaction, Ichigo drove zanpakutō further into the tentacle, cutting halfway through it and causing it to go limp. Pulling the useless tentacle off his arm, he slashed the remaining tentacle in two. "I'm not impressed," Ichigo remarked before thrusting sword into the hollow.

But the Grand Fisher was faster, jumping backwards into the air before his sword could touch it. As it sailed into the air its fur exploded outward into thick tendrils that rained down upon him. Ichigo managed to hack and slash through several tendrils only to have the severed hairs wrapping back together into new appendages. More and more hair engulfed him, knocking his zanpakutō from his hand before they enveloped him. His arms, his legs and his chest were wrapped and covered by the hair and fur. Ichigo couldn't help but cry out in pain as the fur tightened its grip, pulling his limbs as it slowly crushed his body. There was fleshy pop that heralded the dislocation of his left shoulder, causing his cries to become all out screams. "**Yes, cry out so mommy can-**"

Suddenly a sword came down on the tendrils of hair, severing them like a hot knife through butter. Ichigo fell to his knees, his left arm hanging uselessly while his right still clutched his sword, the severed fur pooling around him. His savior stood between him and the Grand Fisher, clad in the black clothes of a Shinigami with a white cloak strapped his left shoulder. "Is this a private dance or can anyone join in?" the man asked.

Ichigo was in utter shock. He knew who it was but it was impossible. How could it be… "Dad?"

Isshin Kurosaki glanced over his shoulder and simply said, "Hey."

"Don't 'hey' me! What are you going in that getup?!" Ichigo exclaimed in disbelief, climbing back up to his feet.

His father just shrugged his shoulders. "Isn't that obvious?"

No it wasn't. How could he, the biggest goofball in the entire world be a Shinigami? And if he was, how could he have kept it a secret for so long? What about that first hollow? Why didn't he kill it before it had a chance to hurt Karin and Yuzu? Those and a million other questions were racing through his head. Yet somehow he managed to ask the most important, "Are you a Shinigami?"

"Why else would I be dressed like this?" Isshin casually replied as though it was most obvious thing in the world.

"But _how_?"

Isshin turned away from him, back to the hollow. "I'll explain everything Ichigo, I promise but not here and not now."

Slowly Ichigo nodded his head, accepting his promise. He was right it wasn't the time for questions, not when this monster was here in front of them. "Dad, that hollow… it killed mom."

"I know," his father said with a nod. "And that's why I'm going to kill it."

"But-"

"Get back with your sisters Ichigo," the older man ordered, the tone of his voice leaving no room argument.

"**I remember you Shinigami. You tried to hunt me down after I consumed that rather delicious woman's soul some years ago,**" the Grand Fisher said, staring down at Isshin. "**You were so determined to find me back then. Was she special to you?**"

"She was my wife and his mother," he calmly replied.

The Fisher's mask seemed to curve into a perverse scream. "**So that **_**freak **_**was the woman that brat has been screaming about,**" the hollow said. "**You know she screamed **_**real**_** loud before she died Shini-AAAARGH!**"

Faster than Ichigo could even track his father slashed off the hollow's right hand. "I highly doubt that," he said, his voice still calm. "I imagine that you only managed to kill her because you got the drop on her. But even then she went down fighting, didn't she? In fact I suspect that you had come to fear her before you killed her. You, a big bad hollow afraid of a little housewife."

The Grand Fisher staggered and doubled over, cradling the bloody stump of its arm. "**Shut up!**" the hollow screamed, its voice filled with fury and agony. "**Those powers were unnatural! No human should have those kinds of powers! No human should have any kind of power! They're nothing but sheep!**"

Ichigo was frozen in place, transfixed by everything. His loud, obnoxious father was in fact a Shinigami and his mother… his mother had powers of her own? None of this made any sense. What other secrets was the old man hiding? "All these years hunting around in this world and you barely understand humans and what they're capable of," Isshin continued. "You're truly pathetic."

"**SHUT UP!**" the Fisher roared, suddenly rearing up and lunging at him with a rapidly regenerating right hand.

Isshin slashed his sword across the Fisher's palm but as soon as he did the hollow attacked his exposed side, claws erupting out its hand. One stabbed into his side while two others cut his chest. Ichigo cried out for his father as the Fisher withdrew its hand from his chest and he fell to a knee.

The hollow called back its lure before it and wrapped its bleeding left hand around the fake girl's head. "**Everyone has one person that they could never raise their hand against,**" the Fisher smugly said. "**For you this is that person.**"

Its hand dropped, revealing… Masaki Kurosaki.

Both Kurosaki men froze, staring at the face of the woman the entire Kurosaki family had loved. She was just as they remember her, the same flowing long hair, the same bright eye, the same radiant smile, everything was the same. How could it be her?

"You truly are a monster," Isshin said, his eyes narrowing in anger.

With a roar he leaped over the lure, his sword raised and ready to kill. "No Isshin my love!" his mother—the lure exclaimed, appearing between the two of them. "Why are you trying to hurt me?"

Isshin gasped, freezing for a split second. It was only a split second but it was enough of an opening for the Fisher, swiping its clawed hand through both lure and man. His father cried out in pain, flying backwards to the ground.

"Dad!" Ichigo yelled, rushing to father's side.

His father had landed on his back and was pretty banged up but he was still alive and breathing. "Damn…" he groaned, trying to get back up. "I didn't think I was that rusty."

The Grand Fisher just stood there and laughed, the lure standing its side with a serene smile on its lips, his mother's smile. "You bastard!" Ichigo snapped, anger and hatred filling him. "I won't let you defile her memory like that!"

Ichigo took off for the hollow, ready to skewer it with his blade. "No Ichigo! Don't hurt mommy!" the lure pleaded, appearing before him.

Just like his father, Ichigo froze. He knew it wasn't her but to see her face, to hear her voice… it was enough to stop him. The Fisher struck back with a big fist. The blow sent Ichigo flying back, crashing into a tree. His head was throbbing as blood dripped down his face. His left arm was still pretty much useless but somehow he managed to get back up while still clutching his sword. But the hollow was already towering over him. "**Heh heh heh… Foolish brat,**" it said, a hand grabbing him by the chest. "**I was going to save you for after but if you're so eager to die than DIE!**"

The Grand Fisher opened its mouth up, wide enough to take a massive bite out of him. But suddenly it stopped, letting out a loud gasp as it dropped him. A sword was piercing through its belly. "Sorry pal," Isshin said, standing behind the hollow while his fingers wrapped around the hilt of his weapon. "But as long as there is an ounce of life in me I'm not gonna let you hurt my children anymore."

Ichigo climbed back up to his feet, lifting his sword. "And I'm not gonna let you get away with all the pain and suffering you caused!" he roared, thrusting his own sword into the Grand Fisher and twisting it.

For a moment no one moved, the Fisher pinned between them and their blades as drops of rain began to fall. Then the Kurosaki men pulled out their swords, staggered back and slumped to a knee. "**Gah… Argh… Blasted…Shinigami…**" the hollow cursed as it collapsed along with its lure.

"It's over Fisher," Isshin said, his breathing heavy and labored. "All that's left is for one of us to take your head."

"**No! I won't die here!**" the hollow screamed, fear in its golden orbs.

Somehow it staggered back up to its feet, blood pouring from its chest and back. The base of the cord connecting the Fisher to its lure started to swell, sucking up the large hollow completely. The mass traveled through the receding cord into the lure. It rose up upon inhuman feet, leering at the two of them pale yellow eyes. "**This isn't over,**" the Grand Fisher sneered, wearing the face of his mother. "**You've wounded me but neither of you are in a position to chase after me!**"

With that the hollow leapt into the air before disappearing all together. "Come back you bastard!" Ichigo screamed, struggling to get back up to his feet.

"Let it go Ichigo," his father replied, waving him off. "Where it's gone we can't go. Besides making sure your sisters are alright is a greater priority. The living are always more important than the dead."

Ichigo glanced over his shoulder, back to where he had left his sisters and Rukia. They were still there, with Rukia standing guard in front of his sisters. Rukia started back at him, her eyes filled alarm and confusion. The unexpected revelation of his father had been just as much as shock to her as it was to him. Behind her his sisters were still laying against the boulder where he had put them, both still out. That was one small mercy. It had spared them, or at least Karin from seeing the fight and learning the fate of their mother.

* * *

Tatsuki winced as the rain started to fall, feeling the beginnings of a headache. Every drop was like a drum banging in her ears. She hadn't said anything to Ichigo or Kuchiki but for days now her senses had been going out of whack, randomly becoming hypersensitive for what could be seconds, minutes or hours. Sometimes it was annoying like the other day when her nose became hypersensitive during practice, the sweaty odors of everyone else nearly bringing her to tears and other times like today it was on the verge of being overwhelmingly painful.

"Tatsuki are you alright?" a concerned Orihime asked.

"I'm fine Orihime," she replied, shrugging her off. "Just looking out at the rain."

"Tatsuki can I borrow an umbrella?"

The dark haired girl nodded her head. "Sure but shouldn't spend the night here? I mean your place is as cold as a barn with that big hole."

"Oh I got evicted," Orihime casually commented as though she was talking about the weather.

"Evicted?!" Tatsuki exclaimed. "Where have you been staying then?!"

"I've been camping out," Orihime said, pulling out a thick sleeping bag from her backpack. "Just look at this sleeping bag." With a big grin she started to stroke and rub her face against it. "It's so soft and comfy! And it's reversible!"

Tatsuki just stood there, staring wide eyed at her friend as her mind crashed and rebooted. "You're…you're sleeping outside?"

"Just kidding!" Orihime suddenly cheered, throwing the sleeping bag into the air. "I've been staying at a hotel until I get a new place."

Relief flooded Tatsuki as she let out a breath. As lame and as stupid as that joke was it was a major relief that she wasn't doing something stupid like camping outside for days… again. "Wait! How long have you been carrying around that sleeping bag?"

"All week," Orihime explained, still wearing that big grin of hers. "I've been waiting to see how you'd react. I thought your reaction would be better though."

Some times are Orihime was just bizarre. Whether it was her taste in food, her free spirited imagination or her sense of humor there were times when she was just strange. This was another of those instances. Most people won't think of lugging around a sleeping bag with them for the better part of a week just for a moment that may or may not happen. Not Orihime though. If she thought it would be funny she'd do just about anything. Tatsuki put a hand through her hair. "I'll get an umbrella," she muttered, not amused in the slightest.

* * *

Rain continued to fall on him, soaking him from head to tail but it didn't matter to him. It could be snowing upon him or even raining fire and he'd barely notice. Only what stood before him mattered right now. "I'm sorry I couldn't avenge your death mom," Ichigo quietly said to his mother's grave.

The rest of his family was back at the temple, waiting for the rain to pass or at least lessen before heading home while Rukia had disappeared all together. Both he and his father had taken a beating from the Grand Fisher but thankfully his sister hadn't suffered anything worse than some scrapes and bruises. If they had been seriously hurt or worse by that bastard he'd have never forgiven himself for failing to protect them like he had with mom.

"Hey!" the voice of his father called out, breaking his vigil.

Ichigo turned his father and watched as he approached. Isshin had changed out of the brighter, ridiculous-looking clothes and into a black suit. In one hand he held up an umbrella to shield himself from the rain while his other hand carried another unfolded one. "I was wondering where you went," his father said as he came to stand next to him. "Here."

The glanced at the offered umbrella for a second and turned back to his mother's grave. "Doesn't matter, I'm soaked already."

They stood there in silence for a moment before the sounds of a lighter being ignited drew Ichigo's attention back to his father. He was lighting up a cigarette. "When'd you start smoking?" Ichigo asked, confused by his indulging in a habit they both knew was bad for one's health.

Isshin took a drag of his cigarette and breathed out a puff of smoke. "Back when Karin and Yuzu were born your mother told me that when we were first dating she always thought I looked cool whenever I smoked," he answered. "That was the only time she ever complimented my appearance. So I decided to smoke on this day every year in front of her."

Once again silence descended on the Kurosaki men as they stared at the grave stone, the only sounds the rain falling and Isshin smoking. "Lighten up Ichigo," his father said, pulling the cigarette from his mouth. "Today isn't anyone's funeral. Well at least not anyone we know."

Ichigo couldn't take it anymore, his anger and frustration reaching the boiling point. After everything that had happened today he was telling jokes? "How can you be so cheerful?!" he shouted at his father. "The monster that killed mom got away! How can you not be mad?!"

His father just shrugged his shoulders and took another drag of his cigarette. "Because there's nothing I can do to change that," he calmly replied. "So why bother get upset over something I can't change? Besides making sure that you and your sisters were alright mattered more to me than avenging your mother and had our positions been reversed, she would have said the same thing."

"Why…" Ichigo uttered, unable understand how he could be so calm. "Why don't any of you blame me? If I hadn't been fooled by that lure, she wouldn't have died!"

His father shrugged his shoulders, a slight grin on his face. "Blame you? Masaki died to protect _you_, her child. I'm proud of her. And if I went and blamed you for that it would dishonor her sacrifice."

"But-"

"You lucky punk!" Isshin shouted as he drove an elbow into his side.

As he clutched his side his father started walking off, cigarette smoke trailing behind him. "Live a good _long _life Ichigo," Isshin called out. "Get married, have kids, go bald and die long after I do. And if possible, die with a smile on your face." He stopped and turned back to face him, grinning that big goofball smile of his. "If you don't, I'll never be able to face her again."

With that he started walking again leaving Ichigo dumbstruck in the rain as it began to end. Was this man really the same goofball who had raised him, the same goofball who acted more like a little boy than an adult, the same goofball who would lovingly hug a giant poster of his wife? He needed answers, the answers he promised to give. "Wait! You said you were going to explain things!" he yelled back.

His father stopped and turned around, a serious look on his face. "When we get home and your sisters are in bed," he replied. "And you might as well bring Miss Kuchiki too."

With that he started walking again, taking several steps before stopping and looking back at. "Oh and tell her she won't be sleeping in your closest or your room anymore! I want grandchildren but not this soon!"

Ichigo's cheeks turned beet red, only able to respond with a string of gibberish from his rapidly opening and closing mouth. And that moment Rukia slipped from the tree she was hiding in, landing flat on her butt, her face just as red as his.

* * *

Sometimes I just love Isshin. There's so few characters in Bleach that can be serious and humorous in the same scene. He's just perfect for lightening up a serious, dour scene.

But yes I've had a big change early on, and yes I'm fell away that Isshin regained his powers as result of prolonged exposure to Ichigo after he became a Shinigami but this is my story and I get to play around with the canon as I see fit.

And yes, in my story Masaki had her own powers. I've long theorized that she had at the very least the ability to see ghosts, hollows and Shinigami and it played a part in how she and Isshin first met. I'm also going to go into a bit on how Isshin and Ryūken met and knew each other, though obviously I'm doing it my way. In fact I'm actually merging some of the ideas I have for another story revolving around a backstory for Isshin, Masaki and Ryūken into this story.

One of the things I really loved in this chapter (besides that final scene between Isshin and Ichigo) was going into (however briefly) into Tatsuki's past and relationship with the Kurosaki family. The manga, particularly during the first arc, hints what their past together but its never really been explored to any real degree. So I really enjoyed getting to flesh it out a little bit. And yes, there will be a bit more of that in this arc.

Speaking of the first arc, I have to say that I truly loved the manga version over the anime. For all the other arcs I'm largely indifferent to the differences between the two versions. You see in the manga version of the first arc there are a lot of little character scenes that usually don't feature Ichigo and Rukia that weren't included in anime. They didn't really contribute to the overall plot but they are nice to see and provide a little more into the characters around Ichigo and Rukia. One of my favorites is the scene revealing just how Mizuiro has been able to attract so many women.

Anyway you know the drill, love it, hate it let me know with a review and see you all next time.


	6. Chapter 5

Yo everybody! Back with another chapter for your enjoyment! This one isn't really as thrilling as some of my previous ones, a lot of talking and setting things up for much further down the road.

Oh and a nod to Eduard Kassel, an excellent author on the site who recently found my story and left a review. While I always enjoy to hear from my fans, I love it when I get a review from an author I respect.

* * *

"I suppose I should start from the beginning," Isshin said as he took his seat behind the desk.

"Yeah," Ichigo replied as he and Rukia took the other two seats in the room.

They were in his father office in the clinic, the door locked and his sisters asleep in their beds. It was about as private as they could get in the house. His father leaned forward in his chair, setting his hands on his desk, interlocking his fingers together. "I don't remember much of my early life in the Soul Society before becoming a Shinigami. Couldn't even tell you if I was born there or in this world," he said. "But eventually it became clear that I was destined to be a Shinigami and so I left the home I grew up in to become one."

For a moment there was almost a wistful look in his eyes as he spoke. Ichigo could only wonder what his father's life had been like.

"A couple years later I graduated from the Academy and was inducted as a low ranked officer in the Thirteen Court Guard Squad." He paused and added, "That's the name of the Shinigami's organization. Anyway I rose up the ranks over the years and about ninety or so years ago I became one of the thirteen Squad Captains. Of course a few years after that we hit by the beginning of a very bad period of time for us and the words in general."

"You mean the Fifty Year Darkness," Rukia said, her eyes wide. "You served during that time?"

A frown spread across his father's face. "Yeah I did," he answered, a hard look in his eyes. "You didn't."

Rukia shook her head. "No, I joined after it ended. But I've heard the stories."

"Stories are far different than the reality," Isshin commented, his tone incredibly old and weary. "I pray another period like that doesn't ever happen again. The things I saw, the things I couldn't stop and the things I _did_ during that time… they should never be repeated again."

The man sagged and slumped under the weight of some unseen weight. "When it was over I felt that… After everything I had seen in that horror show I felt that I could no longer do my duties so I asked to retire along with a bunch of other veterans."

Rukia started to open her mouth to say something but Isshin cut her off. "Before you make the comment Miss Kuchiki about no one ever retiring from the Guard Squads I'll point out a little remembered and little used law that allows Lieutenant-ranked and higher officers that have served with distinction or an officer that has served for a minimum of four hundred years to request retirement from active duty. I fell into the former." He paused for a moment as a guilty grin spread across his face. "Though technically I wasn't supposed to leave the Soul Society but you won't tell them that I'm here, will you Miss Kuchiki?"

The girl blinked her eyes several times. "Er… no."

Isshin cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair and continued. "After that I wandered the Soul Society for some years but it just started to get boring seeing the same three towns over and over again. So I decided to see what life was like in this world and I haven't looked back since."

Ichigo nodded his head, processing everything that he had heard. There were still questions he had but only was important right now. "What about mom?"

A smile returned his father's face. "I met her when she was seventeen. She had already come into her powers by that time, using them to protect souls, both living and dead from hollows and other nasty. It was rather amazing to see actually," he said with warmth in his voice. "You don't see too many Mediums with full powers at that age."

"Mediums?"

"A general name for any human with at least some degree of spiritual awareness," Isshin answered. "It also includes any human with unique powers or humans share similar powers but don't have the numbers to constitute a full, independent race. It's not the only name for them but it is the most common. Anyway I ended up helping your mother against a particularly nasty hollow." His father briefly paused and chuckled for a moment, seemingly lost in his memories. "Actually she probably didn't need my help but I just don't like seeing a girl getting beaten up."

Try as he might Ichigo just couldn't picture it. His mother was soft and kind. He had never seen her raise her voice in anger much less raise a hand against anyone. "She really fought hollows?"

"Is it that hard to believe? You're mother was a lot stronger than she looked," his father replied with a chuckle as he fiddled with a locked drawer on the desk. "You should have seen us back in the day, fighting side by side, shoulder to shoulder against all kinds of nasty things." He stopped, sliding open a drawer and pulled out a framed photograph. "Here we are on the day I proposed to her," he said handing the picture to him.

Ichigo took the photograph and stared at it. His parents were younger with big happy grins on their faces. Isshin's hair was longer and unruly, his face clean-shaven save for some scruff on his chin. He was wearing another of his bright, colorful shirts, his arm wrapped around Masaki's shoulders. Clearly his taste in clothing was just as terrible back then as it was now. His mother was holding up her left hand, showing off her engagement ring. Her face was just as beautiful back as she had been when he was younger. She wore a simple blue and white summer dress with her brown hair pulled back in a loose ponytail.

However they weren't the only ones present in the picture. There were five smiling people around his mother and father. Everyone else in the photo was a stranger to him but all seemed to be close to his parents. "Who are all these people?" Ichigo asked looking up at his father.

"Some old, dear friends."

First was a dark haired young man standing at Isshin's side with frameless glasses and hard, narrow blue eyes underneath his short dark hair. His arms were crossed and he held a warm smirk on his lips. From what he could see in the picture he was wearing an unremarkable light blue shirt, a portion of a small silver chain poking out from the edge of his collar.

"Ryūken," Isshin said as he pointed to him. "A bit on the uptight side but a pretty good guy all and all."

His father's finger moved over to another black haired man. The man was the tallest among everyone in the photo but not by much. He stood directly behind his parents, obscuring most of his body and clothes. From what was visible he was wearing an open grey vest or jacket over a green shirt, a stone pendant crudely craved into some kind of animal head, maybe a dog or a fox or something like that. He had a strong, rugged look to him, four small scars marring the left side of his chin. His shoulder length hair was wild and black yet his grey eyes were calm and warm.

"Satoshi always has his nose buried into dusty books and old histories but he's got one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen."

Next was the last man in group, the second tallest in the group. While he was tall his body was also thin and wiry, kind of like a runner's body. His brunette hair was cut short like a military haircut. Like the others his clothes were simple, a red T-shirt and tan shorts. The young man's face was ordinary and unremarkable, just another face in a crowd.

"Hiroki…" His father paused, letting out a tired, weary sigh. "A damn good man who died far too young."

The next woman was… well she stood out from everyone and unlike the man before would have stood out in just about any crowd. She wore a black leather vest with a collar of white over a black t-shirt with the image of a winged skull. Long brown dreadlocks covered her head while her ears, cheeks and nose were pierced with multiple studs and rings. Her brown eyes had a wild glint to them and her tongue was sticking out from between her grinning teeth.

"Hitomi, Wild Hitomi we called her. Back then she could out drink, out swear and out fight most grown men, usually all in the same night," Isshin commented, tone still wistful and melancholy.

It wasn't lost on Ichigo that the two were holding hands. Neither he nor Rukia said anything.

The last one was a woman standing at the edge of the group in simple dark clothes that somehow looked both casual and formal with a small gold chain coming from a pants pocket to the side of her belt. Her black hair was short and flat, ending at her shoulders. In front of her cold grey eyes were square, rimless glasses. Her facial features were sharp and serious but warmed by her smile.

"Sayori, about as cold and aloof as they come but absolutely brilliant," his father finished, leaning back in his chair.

"They all had powers too didn't they?" Ichigo said, still studying the photo.

His father laughed. "Figured that out sooner than I expected," he commented. "But yeah all of them were humans with powers of some form or another. Most of them are Mediums like your mother, a few aren't."

"So what were they then?"

Isshin shook his head in response. "Sorry but most of them are either living private, semi-normal lives or waist-deep in a world and its politics that you aren't ready for. It's better that you stay in the dark for now."

"What are you talking about? Mediums make up only a fraction of a percent of the human race," Rukia exclaimed in disbelief. "They're just an anomaly among humans. But you're talking about them like they've got their own secret world going on here without the Soul Society knowing."

Ichigo wasn't really such what she was so hung up about. Until a short while ago he hadn't known about Shinigami and hollows so why couldn't they be unknown to her? After all the Shinigami were dead… living dead… whatever people. It seemed like they didn't know much about the Jinmenjūshin but acknowledged that they existed. And if they existed why couldn't other beings like them exist too?

The teen froze as he realized something. Rukia was acting just like him when they first met. She was the skeptic, the one refusing to believe in the possible existence of things beyond the world they occupied. And for that matter, why was he so ready and willing to accept it? Was it because this was all coming from his father? Or was it because this new stuff failed to ellipse the shock of first learning of hollows and Shinigami?

Regardless his father didn't answer Rukia and instead just smiled back at her.

* * *

Karin pulled her ear from the door, wide eyed in disbelief as she slowly crept back to her room, fearful that longer she stayed, the more likely she would be caught. She had seen nearly all of what had happened today, Ichigo with that big sword, her father in those black clothes, that horrible monster and mom…

Water began to gather in the corner of her eyes. _'No! I'm not going to cry!'_ Karin thought as she rubbed her eyes. _'I'm not five anymore!'_

Her confusion over everything that had happened outweighed her concern and what her father had talked about had only added to it. During the fight between that monster and her brother and father they called each other hollow and Shinigami but what did those words mean? How did that creepy cheerful girl fit into all of this? And they had mentioned mom and Tatsuki. Were they like them too?

Karin groaned in annoyance only to immediately cover her mouth in fear that she had been heard. She stopped and glanced back at the door, fearing that it was going to open. But it didn't and the only sounds were the faint, muffled talking still going on. Relived that she hadn't been caught Karin continued to sneak back to her room, her mind trying to make sense of everything that she had seen and heard but somehow deep down she knew she wasn't going to.

* * *

"Why didn't you and mom ever tell us about this?" Ichigo asked when it became obvious that his father wasn't going to say anything else about Mediums and other special humans. "I've been seeing ghosts for as long as I can remember and you never said anything. Why? If I had known even half of-"

Isshin raised his hand up, silencing him. "Hey I told you to stop blaming yourself for Masaki. It was never your fault," he solemnly replied. "When your mother was pregnant with you we decided to keep all this from you so that you could live an ordinary but we never expected that you'd be born so… aware. We had seen firsthand how people suffered trying to live between the normal world and the hidden one, especially the young ones. That wasn't the life we wanted for you or your sisters."

"But I've always been able to see ghosts. I was already living that life," Ichigo countered.

His father shook his head. "No you weren't. Yes you could see ghosts but hollows and Shinigami were still beyond your sight. And even with the ghosts you only marginally interacted with them. Full-fledged Mediums interact with spirits to a far greater degree. Some like you help and protect spirits, others use their powers to help the living and the dead say their good-byes while unfortunately a few use their gifts for _selfish_ reasons." He paused for a brief moment, a strange look on his face. "Anyway we vowed that we wouldn't tell you about our past and the truth of the world until either you turned eighteen or developed powers of your own."

Ichigo knew what he was saying was true but it was still hard to accept. He had been there, he had seen the Fisher's lure, he was the one that chased after it and because he did all that she died that day. However there was something bothering him. "But if mom had powers too how did the Grand Fisher kill her?"

"The truth is we gave up using our powers before you were born so our skills and power had dulled and faded since then. Had I been at my prime today I would have killed the Grand Fisher in a single swing," Isshin explained. "Masaki was strong in her day, more than strong to take down the Fisher but she was out of practice and caught off guard. However she did manage to seriously wound it before she died. That's what saved your life. If she hadn't the Fisher would have eaten you too."

The doctor and ex-Shinigami leaned back again, letting out a loud, over the top sigh. "But that's enough of that kind of talk for tonight," he said looking over at Rukia. "Tomorrow I'm going to tell the girls that the daughter of an old family friend is coming to stay with us for bit on Monday, that's you Rukia. Monday afternoon you'll come home with Ichigo after school and will be sleeping with the girls from then on. There won't be any more teenage hanky-panky going on in my house."

Almost instantly Ichigo's fist collided with his jaw, knocking both him and the chair backwards to the ground. "We weren't doing that in the first place you old pervert!" he exclaimed, his cheeks red at even the suggestion of that kind of stuff.

* * *

Rukia leaned back against her pillow in the closet, staring at the lit up screen of her Denreishinki as she contemplated things. As if having to deal with a Substitute Shinigami and a young Jinmenjūshin weren't bad enough now she had a rogue former captain on her hands. Whether or not that law was true she was fairly certain that a retired Shinigami shouldn't be here, running around in the World of the Living. And she was now fairly certain that Isshin's father was a pathological liar. She didn't believe in the slightest his claims about secret worlds and races beyond human, Shinigami, Jinmenjūshin and hollow.

Regardless she knew enough of their laws to know that only Shinigami that had been exiled were allowed to live here. Her duty demanded that she report this to her superiors and that would result in a team being sent to Isshin Kurosaki apprehend. Either they'd arrest him or he'd be forced to flee from Karakura Town. And where would that leave Ichigo and his sisters? He was in enough trouble already for being an illegal Substitute Shinigami but being the son of a Shinigami and a human as well was… troubling.

There was no precedent of such a child ever being born before and now she had three on her hands. What would her superiors do with them? Would let them continue living in this world under heavy surveillance or would they be taken back to the Soul Society? Or would they be subjected to a worst fate…

Rukia clasped her Denreishinki shut. No she couldn't do that to them. Whatever crimes Isshin could have committed were his alone. His children were innocent and didn't deserve to be punished for them. So she'd keep his secret, not for him but for them.

* * *

"Well Masaki, I told him about us," Isshin said aloud, breathing out a puff of smoke. "I wish you could see him now. He's just like we were back then."

He was standing outside looking up at the full moon hanging in night sky. Everyone else was asleep inside so he didn't have to worry about someone listening in like Karin had done earlier. He had hoped the fake memories would have taken with her as it did Yuzu but she was too much like Ichigo. Worse she was being exposed to all of this at a younger age. At fifteen Ichigo was too young for all this madness but Karin wasn't even a teenager. Children and teenagers deserved to live their lives in the peace and comfort of one world, not the struggles and conflicts of two.

"Smoking again? I thought you quit Isshin," a voice called out, drawing Isshin from his thoughts.

The voice startled the former Shinigami, causing him to drop the cigarette. He knew that voice quite well even if he hadn't heard it in years. Isshin turned towards the source of the voice, watching in disbelief as its owner approached. "Sato? Is that really you?"

A grin across the approaching dark haired man's lips. "Of course it is."

The two old friends shook hands and embraced each other in a hug. "It's damn good to see you again Sato!" Isshin exclaimed, feeling better than he had all day. "I thought you were still out in South America digging up those ancient ruins. When'd you get back in town?"

Sato hadn't changed much in the last few years. His hair and beard had grown out but other than that he looked about the same. He wasn't wearing the heavier, more rugged clothes he favored instead he was clad in a black suit though it was missing a tie. Sato always complained about wearing ties, calling them 'velvet nooses' whenever he was forced to wear them. "Oh not too long ago," Sato replied with a shrug. "There's a Moot at the end of the month and I wanted to share what I've learned and discovered from the ruins."

An archeologist and historian Sato had spent much of his adult life venturing into ancient cities and tombs both known and forgotten to humanity. Hell some of his endeavors would have made great movies if it wasn't for the fact that the truth was more outlandish than even the craziest of fiction. "Find anything interesting?" Isshin asked.

"Not as much I would have liked but more than I had hoped for," Sato answered, unbuttoning the top of button of his shirt. "I won't bore you details of but it wasn't enough to prove my theories." He paused, hesitating for a moment. "I just got back from paying my respects to Masaki and Hiroki. I could tell that Ryūken and Sayori had been there some time before I was there as well as something more troubling. The hollow's stink was still there as well as the smell of your blood and your son's blood."

Whether it was an old manuscript buried in an archive, a lost treasure hidden in a tomb or the faint traces of battle nothing could escape Sato's nose. "After six years that bastard reared its ugly head again," Isshin admitted. "It went after the girls but Ichigo managed to stop it before it could seriously hurt them."

"When did he manage to become a Shinigami?"

"A couple of weeks ago and he's actually only a Substitute," he answered.

"And the other one?"

"That's… well that's a long story. I won't bore you with the details but she's the reason he became a Substitute Shinigami."

Sato shot him a funny look. "He's dating a Shinigami? And you're allowing them to sleep in the same room?"

Isshin couldn't help but laugh at his words. "Nah it's not like that at all. Beside's Ichigo's one of the biggest prudes I've ever seen. Hell I'm not even sure he knows how to ask a girl out much less give me some grandchildren," he commented. "I don't know where he got that from. Neither Masaki and I were never prudes like that."

Both men started to laugh, momentarily lost in memories of long ago. But with those good memories came the bitter memories of lives lost and destroyed and as quickly as it began the laughter died in their throats. A heavy silence descended upon the pair. "I discovered what happened to Hitomi after she left," Isshin grimly said. "She's a housewife now."

Sato stared at him like he had just grown a second head and dyed his hair green. "You're kidding."

Isshin shook his head. "Nope. She looks completely dull and average now," he replied. "You wouldn't even recognize her anymore. Her dreadlocks, her piercings, her tattoos, all of its gone. She even married a normal man."

"After Hiroki I never thought she'd fall in love with anyone again much less marry them," Sato admitted, his voice low and quiet. "She got any kids?"

"Yeah."

Isshin couldn't help but feel incredibly old and tired. Hitomi and Hiroki were just another tragedy amid all the other tragedies of his long, long life. And like so many others it cut deeply at his heart. Why was it that he could lead people into the bloodiest of battles, to their deaths yet always survive himself?

"Its funny how things change," Sato commented, bringing Isshin out of his thoughts. "Once upon a time we were a bunch of young bucks saving the world every other week. Now most of us are either dead or retired from that life while new kids are starting to take up our old causes."

"Well I wouldn't go that far but yeah," Isshin said, thinking of his son and those around him that he did and didn't notice. "Ryūken's kid has been firing a bow for a while now, Ichigo's taking up after his old man and your niece has gotten her claws."

"The old man has been particularly pleased about that. Another Arisawa wolf to fight for Mother Earth especially after the embarrassment of the last one," Sato bitterly replied.

Isshin cocked an eyebrow at him. "And you're not proud of her?"

"Proud of her? Yes. Him? No."

The former captain couldn't help but laugh again. Sato and his father have been butting heads for years. Hell their fights made the brawls between him and Ichigo look like thumb wrestling. "And the more things change the more they stay the same," he mused.

"That they do," Sato replied. "What do you say we get a drink?"

Isshin shook his head. "Pass. I got appointments tomorrow morning. The last things my patients need is for me to show up with a hangover."

* * *

For what had to be the thirtieth time Ichigo mentally cursed himself as he rushed to finish putting on his uniform. He had forgotten set his alarm last night and Rukia already left. Now he'd be lucky to make it before the bell and definitely wouldn't have time for breakfast. Grunting and hopping on one foot Ichigo struggled to get his sock on while trying to maintain his balance. He failed, falling against the wall next to his open closet door. The impact caused a plastic bag sitting on the edge of Rukia's mattress to fall, spilling its contents on the floor.

Cursing again Ichigo started to pick up the mess, tossing a battery and what kind of looked like a glue stick back in the bag but stopped when he grabbed the third item. It was a candy dispenser with a green duck head and the label 'Soul Candy' on the side. Well if wasn't he wasn't going to have breakfast today… Besides Rukia wouldn't mind if he had just one.

He squeezed the duck head, pushing out a small green piece of candy. It wasn't much but it was better than nothing. Ichigo popped the candy in his mouth and things suddenly when wrong. There was a strange in his belly as he felt a force push him backwards. To his surprise however he watched his body fall forward crashing to the ground, a familiar chain connect them together. "What the hell…" he uttered, staring at his body.

Then as if things couldn't get any stranger his body rose up and started studying itself. "A body? I have a body?" his body said in amazement as it played with its fingers. "After all this time I have a body!"

It took Ichigo a moment but he realized what was going on. Somehow he, just as with Orihime when she was attacked by her brother, had been ejected from his body while something else had entered it. "Yeah, you're in _mine_. And keep it down. Someone's going to hear you!"

The thing in his body turned to him, grinning like a maniac. "Thanks buddy!" it cheered. "Hope you don't mind me taking your body for a spin!"

Suddenly it dashed to his open window and started to climb out.

He couldn't let his own body run away! This needed to be fixed right now! "Wait!" Ichigo shouted as he rushed to the window.

But his body was faster, jumping out the window. It took off, leaping at impossible distances down the street. "Damn it! Get back here," Ichigo frantically screamed at his own body.

"Thanks again buddy!" it called out, waving back to him as more and more links appeared on the chain that connected them. "Don't worry I'll take good care of your body!"

* * *

He was ecstatic, absolutely ecstatic. After who knows how long being stuck inside that pill he was free! Not only that, he was in a pretty good body too. He had long, strong legs, some good arms and no fat belly. Though he couldn't tell what his face looked like beyond his ridiculously bright hair but all things considering bright hair was better than no hair. Now all he had to do was find some fun.

Landing on a wall of cement he looked out upon the place he was in. It was definitely different from the Soul Society, not that he actually seen it beyond the images in the memories they implanted into him when he was created. This had to be the World of the Living. The people, the clothing, the buildings, those weird moving metal boxes, all of it were unlike anything he had seen before in his memories. His grin spread even wider. He couldn't wait to see what these did for fun!

"Hey Ryō did you finish your art project yet?" a voice from below him asked.

He looked down, seeing a pair of school girls walking together. The first girl was short and kind of cute but flat as a board while the other was tall with her nose in a book and a pair of absolutely wonderful long legs. Whoever gave a girl with legs that long a skirt that short deserved a medal. And where ever there was one young hottie there was more. All he had to do was follow them to the rest.

Grinning wildly with visions of beautiful school girls dancing in his head, the Kaizō Konpaku followed after them.

* * *

Ichigo sprinted down the streets of Karakura, following the trail of his Chain of Fate in a mixture of anger and panic. Why did he keep on getting dragged into messes like this? At first he thought he was unlucky but now he was beginning to think that maybe he was cursed or something. A pint-sized Death God with an attitude, psychotic, soul-eating hollows and now some weird, cheerful thing had kicked him out of his body before running off with it. What next could the world throw at him?

As he rounded a street corner that question answered itself.

"Hey ghost!" a voice called out, stopping Ichigo in his tracks.

The street was empty save for a pair of young boys, twins wearing identical clothes save for their hats. "You can see me?" Ichigo asked.

"Of course we can," the boy with the white hat snidely answered. "I did call out to you."

"Yeah, I guess you did," the teen admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. He really didn't have time for this. Who knows what that thing could be doing in his body and his reputation right now. "I'm kind of busy right now so could you make it quick."

"We just need directions to Karakura General Hospital," the one wearing a cap replied.

Ichigo took a quick moment to orient himself to his location before pointing to the west. "Keep heading west until you cross the river. You can't miss it from there," he answered. "It's half a dozen blocks or so from the river."

The boys bowed their heads in gratitude. "Thank you," Red Cap said.

But Ichigo had already taken off again, back on the trail of his stolen body, the boys fading to the background of his mind. A couple of spirit-seeing boys were the least of his worries right now. Besides they were just kids, maybe a year or two older than his sisters. It wasn't like they were something dangerous.

* * *

"Hi Tatsuki!"

"Hey Orihime," Tatsuki greeted fighting back a yawn that was crawling up her throat. How Orihime always managed to be a bundle of energy each and every morning was beyond her. Never once in all the years she had known her Orihime had _never_ slept in or woken up groggy and tired in the morning.

"About yesterday, thank you for telling me," Orihime quietly added as she took her seat.

"Don't mention it," the dark haired teen replied. "And don't tell anyone."

"My lips are sealed Tatsuki," Orihime cheerfully said, putting a finger before her smiling lips.

Despite her often bubbly attitude Orihime was much smarter than she acted. After all she was ranked third academically in their grade level. Besides what she told her yesterday about Ichigo wasn't really gossip material. Speaking of the bright haired dope where was he? She hadn't seen him at all this morning. "Hey have you seen Ichigo this morning?"

The smile slipped from Orihime's face. "No. Why?"

Tatsuki shrugged her shoulders, glancing at Rukia for a second. She was sitting at her desk, her nose buried in a trashy romance novel. "It's nothing important," she answered before turning to where Ichigo and his friends sat.

Sado, Kojima and Asano were all there talking with each. Well actually it was more like Kojima and Asano were talking while Sado was impersonating a statue which was pretty normal for them save that Ichigo wasn't there. "Hey Kojima did you walk by Ichigo's house today?" Tatsuki called out.

"No I got a ride in today with my girlfriend and her friend," the shorter teen replied.

"Wait! You got ride with _two_ hot girls and you didn't think about offering me a ride?!" an upset Asano exclaimed.

Kojima shrugged, turning his attention to his phone. "It never crossed my mind."

Asano grabbed his friend by the collar. "Oh come on! Aren't I your friend?!" he screamed. "Don't I deserve some love too?!"

"Sorry Mister Asano. I'm flattered but you're not my type," Kojima calmly replied, his eyes never leaving his phone.

"That's not what I meant! And don't call me Mister-"

"Quiet down Asano!" their teacher, Miss Ochi called out as she entered the classroom. "Everyone take your seats-"

But their teacher froze, staring wide eyed at the opposite wall. One by one everyone started to turn to the windows. There, standing barefoot in one of the open windows and grinning like that idiot Asano was Ichigo with a vaguely familiar plate and chain on his chest. What the hell was the idiot doing on the window? And for that matter how had he entered the room and gotten onto the window without anyone noticing? Unless he had climbed up the wall or maybe he jumped up there using his powers. But Ichigo wouldn't do that. Hell, Asano the class clown wouldn't even do something that stupid. So what was going on?

"Yo," Ichigo greeted, trying to sound cool but absolutely failing in her eyes.

At that moment Tatsuki knew that wasn't Ichigo. They may have Ichigo's face and voice but they weren't even close to being Ichigo. Maybe something was possessing Ichigo like Asano had been recently or maybe it was some fake attempting a poor imitation of Ichigo. Tatsuki looked back at Rukia. She looked as confused as everyone else. Rukia was just as much in the dark as the rest of them.

Tatsuki sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on. It seems like the craziness that been following Ichigo had finally reached the classroom.

* * *

And that's all for now. Originally I was going to do the whole Kon incident in this chapter but it was getting too long so I decided to end it here. I actually have the full classroom scene done here but I felt it ended better here than there.

Two-thirds of this chapter was born out of several story ideas and Bleach theories I've held for a long time about the time before Ichigo. I've often wondered about Isshin's life after the Thirteen Court Guard Squads but before Ichigo was born. How did he come to meet Masaki and Ryuken? Why did he decide to be a doctor? Why did he left the Soul Society? Surprisingly I haven't seen much of an effort by writers to explore this despite the potential for some incredible stories. Personally if anyone is curious I believe that why Isshin left the Soul Society, why he became a doctor and even why he adopted that goofy persona of his is all tied to the same thing which I've begun to present to you here. Of course it is tailored more to my universe than the canon but it has the same principles.

And the second thing I've wondered about is how the Thirteen Court Guard Squads handled the wars and mass deaths during the first half of the 1900s, the World Wars, the Spanish Influenza, the Holocaust, the first uses of the atomic bomb. Collectively millions were dying a relatively short period of time while the Shinigami only number the thousands. It would have been just as bad a period for them as it was for the human race.

So when I began to refine this story I began to add elements of those ideas into this to add some character to my universe. Bits of it will be explored and mentioned but won't I delve too deeply into those things, at least for the time being. Maybe after I get a couple of arcs done I'll do a side story about some of that or maybe just some one-shots.

Anyway, love it, hate it let me know with a review.


	7. Chapter 6

Yo everybody! Back with another chapter and much sooner than I expected. But after reading the latest chapters of Bleach and Naruto this morning I got really psyched up and literally haven't stopped writing since. Gotta say I've seeing a younger Yamamoto and Obito-er Tobi is finally getting unmasked!

BlueMoon: Well Four Man Team Seven is on my probable continuing list but I won't work on any full story until I finish the Soul Society Arc. I've updated my page with which stories I've decided to abandon all together and which ones are in may likely to continue down the road list. Of course I may also do some oneshots as I'm working on this. Actually my friends and I recently finished a game of Vampire: the Masquerade where we used the core storyline of the video game Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines. Both of which can be bought through RPGDriveThru and Steam respectively. And my friends have been urging me to write a story based on our game sessions. I've kind of decided that I'd rather do for them a series of oneshots revolving around the major moments of our game rather than a full story.

Anyway on with the show!

* * *

Ichigo couldn't believe it. There was no way his luck could be that horrible. Of all the places the bodysnatcher could have gone to he chose his school, the one place where it could cause the most damage to his reputation. Who knew what kind of havoc it could be causing right now.

As though to answer his question a loud scream filled the air as he approached the school doors. The scream was loud and very, _very_ angry. No it wasn't a scream; it was a roar of shock and fury and it sent a shiver down Ichigo's spine. He looked up trying to find the source of the sound but it had been over too quickly for him to pinpoint its location.

Suddenly a window on the third floor shattered as a desk flew through it. Ichigo watched as the desk and the broken glass crashed onto the ground. He knew where the bodysnatcher was now. It was in his body in his classroom with his class because that was how his luck was.

Groaning Ichigo reached out for a door handle only for his fingers to slide through it. Right… he wasn't in his body anymore, he couldn't use doors. But like the ghosts that had followed him around he could pass through objects. Subconsciously holding his breath he pushed through the door like it wasn't even there. It was strange to walk through a solid object but he didn't have time to lose on that.

He took off, sprinting up the nearest flight of stairs and reached the third floor in a minute flat. But no sooner had he reached the floor then a loud high-pitched scream filled the air. Great, the bodysnatcher had attack a girl. How the hell was he going to explain that?

Ichigo dove into the classroom doorway, expecting the worst. The room was a mess half the chairs and desks were flipped over and strewn about the room. Nearly everyone was standing along the walls for their safety, staring wide-eyed at what was going on. His body was being attacked by an enraged Tatsuki while screaming like a scared little girl. Tatsuki threw at chair the bodysnatcher who managed to duck under it as it sailed through the air. "Hey come on! It was just a kiss!" the fake exclaimed.

The teenager blinked his eyes in disbelief. He kissed Tatsuki? Why didn't he just jump in front of a speeding truck? That would have been a quicker and far less painful way to die.

With a roar Tatsuki lunged at his body, ramming her fist into his stomach. For a brief instant Ichigo saw what he could only describe as a flash of some kind of pale blue wild energy that surged around her fist just before it hit. Whatever that energy was its affect was crystal clear when Tatsuki hit his body. Ichigo could only watch on as his body was thrown violently back, flying halfway across the room and crashing into the blackboard, leaving a distinct Ichigo-shaped indent in the board and the wall. But that wasn't all the damage it had done. The punch had torn through his shirt and burned his skin.

For a moment that seemed to stretch for an eternity no one said anything. Everyone just stared wide eyed in stunned silence. Yet for a long as the moment seemed it ended and people started talking, loudly whispering among themselves about what just happened.

"Whoa… Did you see that! Tatsuki punched him into the wall!"

"And look at his shirt! How did she do that?"

"I knew she was strong but that's insane!"

"YOU'RE FREAKING CRAZY LADY!" the bodysnatcher screamed as he peeled himself off the wall.

"Tatsuki! That's my body you're beating up!" Ichigo added just as horrified.

Tatsuki turned to him for a moment. She looked pissed—no she looked ready to rip someone apart limb from limb and by the looks of things that someone could be him. Yeah… he shouldn't have said anything. Tatsuki turned back to his body. "You, shut up before I kill you." She turned back to him. "You, explain before I decide to see if I can kill a ghost."

For a moment Ichigo struggled to find the words but with Tatsuki distracted with him, the bodysntacher took off. "I'm out of here!" the fake exclaimed, diving for an open window.

"No!" Ichigo screamed in horror as his body fell.

He, Tatsuki, Rukia and a few of the others rushed to the windows, just in time to see his body take off across the schoolyard at its inhuman speeds. How was that thing so fast in his body? He wasn't that fast, well not without his Shinigami powers. So how was he moving so fast? Was somehow tapping into his powers? Whatever it was it didn't matter. He needed his body back.

"What did you do Ichigo?" Rukia grumbled, turning to him.

"No time. He's getting away," Ichigo replied as he took off for the door.

* * *

The Kaizō Konpaku grimaced as he clutched his burnt chest. Pain was something new to him. His entire existence in a pill before hadn't included that. But even pain and that crazy girl was better than being stuck without a body again.

He was under no illusion that would he live for much longer. The Shinigami would eventually figure out what he was. After all the kid couldn't have gotten his hands on his pill if he hadn't somehow known a Shinigami. And when that Shinigami came calling he would die. But until that happened he was going live this life to the fullest.

Panting he stopped on a bridge overlooking a river and leaned on the railing. If nothing else it was a nice view. For a long, long time he had wondered what the outside world had looked like. The sights, the sounds, the smells, everything was just so alive here. All of it was beautiful to him.

Beautiful save for the hollow that ripped through the sky and descended upon the bridge and its unsuspecting pedestrians.

* * *

"So let me get this straight, you decided that since you slept in and didn't have time for breakfast that you were going to steal what you thought was my candy when in fact it was a gikongan," Rukia dryly recited as they ran. "And when you ate that 'candy' the artificial soul inside pushed your soul out while the gikon ran off with your body."

"Yeah," Ichigo guiltily admitted.

"You just ate something that didn't belong to you," Tatsuki added, shaking her head. "what if it was some kind of Shinigami medicine or something that was toxic to humans?"

"It was in a candy dispenser and I was hungry," Ichigo said, trying to defend his actions. "Besides what are you doing here Tatsuki?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she replied, putting her hand through head. "You can't do squat like this so I'm gonna kick that creep's ass then I'm probably gonna kick your ass for getting us all into this mess."

Ichigo shook his head trying vainly to dislodge her hand. It was weird to have someone inside him or for that matter to pass through solid objects and people. How did ghosts stand it? "Stop that Tatsuki!"

"It just proves what I'm saying," she said, pulling her arm back. "What can you do to him? Blow on him?"

Tatsuki had a good point. He couldn't do a whole lot in his current state. Then again that gikon creep was in his body, hurting it would be hurting himself. So their options were already limited.

"This is worse than a mere rogue gikon," Rukia said. "I think that it's a Kaizō Konpaku."

"A what?"

"It's a modified artificial soul," the Shinigami replied. "Years ago there was a special project in the Soul Society called 'Spearhead'. The idea of the project was to create a line of combat artificial souls that could be inserted into the bodies of the dead and used as foot soldiers against the hollows."

"Wait! You guys wanted to use corpses to fight hollows?" Tatsuki exclaimed. "That's disrespectful to the dead!"

Rukia nodded her head. "And that's exactly why the project was shut down and the mod souls were supposedly destroyed."

"Not this one," Ichigo grumbled.

"Yes not this one and as you've noticed he's abnormally fast. Each line of mod souls was given a special power when they were placed in bodies," Rukia explained. "I believe an 'Underpod' type, designed to have super powered legs."

"So it's fast," Tatsuki commented.

"Not just his speed, but his kicks will be powerful too," Rukia replied.

"Okay so watch out for its legs," the martial artist said. "Anything else?"

"Yeah don't mess my body up too much," Ichigo snapped.

"No promises," his oldest friend grunted.

"Come on it was just a kiss!"

"And that creep grabbed my ass as he kissed me!" Tatsuki shot back.

Ichigo was at loss for words, a vein twitching on his forehead. How much more was this bodysnatcher going to ruin his reputation? Bad enough the entire class had seen 'him' kissing Tatsuki but to have been caught groping her like a pervert was going to destroy any kind of reputation he had left!

_BEEP! BEEP!_

"A hollow!" Rukia exclaimed, pulling out her phone.

* * *

Keigo slumped in his chair, freaked like everyone else by what had happened. Miss Ochi had ordered everyone to clean up the mess caused by Tatsuki and Ichigo in an attempt to calm everyone down. It wasn't working. Everyone was talking about it. It'd take something even more strange or shocking than that spectacle. "Can you believe that Ichigo did that?" he asked Mizuiro.

"That wasn't Ichigo," his friend calmly replied as he adjusted his desk.

"What makes you say that?"

Satisfied that his desk was back in the right spot Mizuiro sat down on his chair. "Simple, Ichigo would never do that Tatsuki or Orihime. In fact he's always struck me as awkward around girls, at least in that manner."

Well that was true. For all his prowess in the art of beating up gangs of bullies and thugs he was bit pathetic when it came to wooing women. Heck Rukia seemed to follow him around like a lovesick puppy yet Ichigo seemed obvious to it. She wasted on Ichigo. Besides that there was the fact that he kissed Tatsuki. There was no way that Ichigo would be stupid enough to randomly hit on and kiss the one girl in class that if pissed off could beat a man to death with their own skull.

"Plus there was Tatsuki's odd reaction during their fight and her talking to thin air," Mizuiro added.

Keigo grimaced, not wanting to think about that because of he saw. Tatsuki hadn't spoken to nothing she had spoken to a blurry form that no one else seemed to notice. He knew if he said anything about it everyone would think he was crazy. But he saw it and he had…

"Asano! I said to put your desk back!" Miss Ochi snapped, jarring him from his thoughts.

"Er… I can't," Keigo nervously replied.

"What do you mean you can't?

"Tatsuki threw my desk out the window."

* * *

"So that's a hollow," Tatsuki commented as they watched the scene play out before them.

The hollow looked like a massive centipede with a small head on its body and it was fighting with the mod soul on the banks of the river. Ichigo grimaced as the hollow slammed its large side against his body. If this kept up he wouldn't have a body to return to. With a roar he took off, racing for the hollow and his body. As he neared the fallen soul he jumped up into the air, driving his foot into its masked face. He didn't pass through it like everything else, knocking back the hollow.

"Thanks," the mod soul said as he stood up, clutching his blood covered left shoulder.

Ichigo spun around to face the thief. "Give me back my body so I can kill this hollow!" he demanded.

"I can't," the Kaizō Konpaku replied. "You need to hit me with a zanpakutō to get me out of here."

Ichigo couldn't help but grumble in annoyance. Whether it was true or not if he couldn't get back into his body and use his Shinigami powers they were screwed.

"**Soul! Tasty, tasty soul!**" the hollow howled, recovering from the blow.

In a blur of speed the hollow lunged at them, its mouth wide and eager to consume.

"Hadō Number Thirty-three: Shakkahō!" Rukia shouted, holding her palms out together.

A crimson ball of energy struck the hollow on the head. It stopped its attack, howling pain as it thrashed around. But the attack only seemed to scorch its mask. Rukia cursed as the hollow started to recover. It snarled and lunged at the weakened Shinigami. Tatsuki tackled Rukia, pulling them both out of the way and the hollow itself into the grass and dirt.

"Got any plans?" Tatsuki said the two of them got up.

"The three of us will try to wear it down," Rukia said as the hollow struggled to unbury itself. "You better get out of here."

"No way! I can fight!" the taller girl shot back.

Rukia shook her head. "Not against a hollow," she replied. "Not unless you plan on transforming again."

"Let her fight," Ichigo said. "We need all the help we can get."

At that moment the hollow tore through the ground, roaring in anger and frustration. Rukia fired off another energy attack, hitting the hollow's underbelly. The monster shuttered, its upper body slumping down. Tatsuki's fist, crackling with faint energy slammed left side of the hollow's mask, the force of the blow twisting its body backwards. With a roar Ichigo leaped into the air, joined by the mod soul. Together they drove their feet into its masked face. The hollow fell backwards, its mask cracked.

But then the mod soul took off, sprinting towards where the hollow was heading. Delivering another powerful kick, the Kaizō Konpaku sent the hollow flying into the river before he fell to the ground. Suddenly water rose up from the river, forming into a long tendril. The water cracked like a whip, striking the hollow's head and slicing it in two. And as quickly as it appeared the tendril disappeared back into the river while the hollow crumbled into dust.

"Okay what was that?" Tatsuki said, asking the question that he too was wondering about.

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. "No idea."

"I don't have any idea either," Rukia added.

The three of them glanced over that the mod soul. "Hey don't look at me," the artificial being shot back. "I can't do anything like that."

If what Rukia said was right then he was telling the truth. Manipulating water was far different from super powered legs. But there was something else Ichigo was wondering about. "Why'd you kick that hollow again?"

The mod soul pointed to something in the grass where the hollow would have landed. It took Ichigo a couple of seconds but he saw it in the end. "An anthill? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Right after I was born Soul Society ordered the mod souls to be destroyed," the mod soul bitterly said, sitting up on the grass. "The day after I was born I was sentence to death! Every day while I was in that pill I was afraid as I watched the others disappear one by one. Even after I got lucky and escaped the storage among other pills I feared being discovered and killed. As I trembled in fear I thought that… that life isn't something that should be taken from others." He stood up, fire and determination in his eyes. "I was born like this! I should at least have the right to live and die freely! Whether it's humans or insects... or even a mod soul it's the same. That's why I won't kill anything!"

* * *

With a satisfied grin on his face Hō called back his doll Günther as he stepped off the opposite end of the bridge from all the commotion. He had thought that kid was odd when they had met before but he hadn't realized that he was that noisy Substitute Shinigami that people were talking about. Frankly he hadn't believed the stories were true until they had reached Karakura itself and felt the boy's spiritual pressure. Whoever his handler was must be incompetent to say the least if the boy was being _that_ noisy. Or had the Shinigami become so arrogant that they had stopped caring about discretion towards those below them?

If that was the case it probably wouldn't be for much longer, not with what was coming.

"What are you doing?" Ban called out as he approached, returning with a bag in his hand.

"Just returning a favor," he replied, catching Günther's core with his left hand.

"Here," his brother grunted, tossing him the bag.

Ban pulled off his brother's hoodie revealing his bloodstained orange shirt, its right shelve was gone, burnt off completely. As much his shirt had been wrecked his hoodie had suffered worse and it would have been _inappropriate _to walk around with ruin, bloodstained clothes.

He handed his brother's hoodie back before digging into the back and pulled out the clothing inside. "Didn't they have any like my old one?" Ban asked, mentally groaning at the dull hoodie in his hands.

"You got that one six years ago," Hō replied. "Did you really think they'd still have ones like it now?"

Ban shrugged before putting it on. "I suppose not."

"How's the arm?"

"It's completely restored," he replied, stiffly flexing his right arm from the shoulder to the fingers. The severed limb was completely restored though the amount of energy he had consumed to regenerate it had been significant. He'd have to feed soon.

"I still can't believe he shot at us. I mean we were just delivering a letter," Hō said, putting a hand through his hair.

He hadn't been the only one to lose a beloved piece of clothing. "At least now we know why she asked us to do it instead of doing it herself," he replied.

Hō nodded his head. "I don't know about you but that's the last time I do her a favor."

"Agreed."

* * *

Ichigo was at a loss for word. He was still mad at the mod soul for what he had done but what had happened to him was about as crappy as it could get. Trapped for who knew how long in that pill, fearing that he was going to be found and killed for simply being what they created him to be, it wasn't fair.

"Sad sorry," Tatsuki commented, beads of sweat trailing down her face. "But that doesn't change what you've done. You have a choice mod soul, either get out of that body so I can kick Ichigo's ass or I'll kick your ass."

"Wait what?!" Ichigo blurted out as the mod soul backed away, shivering in terror.

Tatsuki lifted her hand up and balled it into a fist. "Then again I'm starting to get the hang of this," she said with some exertion, faint energy surrounding her clenched fist. "Maybe I'll just hit you with one of these. I imagine that will hurt."

The Kaizō Konpaku let out a scream and dove behind Rukia for safety. "I told you I can't!" he screamed. "You need something like a zanpakutō that can extract a soul from a body! Please don't hurt me!"

"Well then it looks like we've arrived just in time," an odd-looking man said, the clip clopping of his wooden sandals heralding his approach. "Though it looks like we didn't need to bring all this gear with us after all."

The grinning man was wearing a green shirt and pants with a dark coat overtop of it. Blond hair was sticking out from under a striped green and white bucket hair that obscured his eyes and the top of his face. Oddly enough while the man looked relatively young he carried a cane. Behind him were three others, a giant man with glasses and a large mustache, a little boy with bright red hair and a sad looking girl with pigtails. Both children were carrying oversized weapons, the boy looking quite eager to use it.

"Huh? You are you guys?" Ichigo asked, forgetting for second that he was still a spirit outside of his body.

To his surprise the man turned to him. "Just fixing a mistake," he replied.

"You can see me?"

The man's grin seemed to widened. "Of course I can."

With that the man turned to Rukia and the mod soul, approaching the pair calmly. "What are you doing?" the Kaizō Konpaku nervously demanded. "No! Get-"

Faster than anyone could react the man stabbed the end of his cane through the mod soul's—through Ichigo's forehead but it caused no wound. The end of the cane poked through the back of Ichigo's head, a green pill out with it. With the mod soul gone, Ichigo's body collapsed like a ragdoll. "Mission accomplish," the man said to his companions as he picked up the pill. "Let's head home."

The red haired boy grumbled about not seeing any action but the entire group started to leave. "Wait!" Ichigo called out. He couldn't let them leave just yet. There was still something on his mind. "Hat-and-Clogs what are you going to do with him?"

The blond hair man stopped and turned around. "I have no choice I have to destroy him," he answered.

Ichigo opened his mouth to protest but Rukia was faster, grabbing the pill from the man's hand "What do you think you're doing Urahara?" she asked. "What kind of storeowner confiscates purchased goods from customers?"

"You'll get a full refund Miss Kuchiki if that's what you're worried about," the man, Urahara replied.

"No I'm quite satisfied with my purchase," the dark haired girl said, slipping the pill into a pocket of her uniform. "Besides it's not your job to recall him."

Urahara scratched his scruffy chin. "Are you sure? I can't cover for you on this. If they find out it will be all on you."

"I'm fine with that."

* * *

Ichigo sighed as all around him the crowds gathered together closer to the abandoned hospital, eager to get the best view of the show. Ichigo couldn't care less about Don Kanonji's Ghost Bust. He wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for his father dragging him along. It was hard to accept his fake goofy persona after having seen him as a Shinigami first hand. Why he chose to he pretended to be so ridiculous was beyond him. He could kind of understood liking Don Kanonji for Yuzu's sake.

"BOHAHAHAHA!" someone laughed right behind him, surprising him.

It was Rukia her arms crossed in the stupid Kanonji pose. As if his father and Yuzu, his friends and about two-thirds of his class doing it hadn't bad enough. "Oh lighten up Ichigo," the Shinigami said, reading the displeasure on his face. "Between school and your Shinigami duties you've barely had any time to unwind. You should just relax and enjoy the night."

"Yeah Ichigo," the mod soul, now known as Kon said, the head of the stuffed lion that was now his body sticking out of Rukia's backpack. "Loosen up a bit."

"Keep out of sight," Ichigo hissed, pushing him back into the bag and zipping it shut despite his protests.

Thankful the whole Kon incident had been erased from the minds of his class by Rukia so no one beyond the four of them knew what had happened. He'd never live that embarrassment down otherwise. And he had forgiven Kon, for the most part which was more than could be said for Tatsuki who threatened Kon that if he ever so much as ogled another girl she'd rip off his head and throw it into the river. He had considered threatening Kon with bodily harm as well but really holding up the threat of telling Tatsuki was enough to keep him in line.

"So what's this festival all about?" Rukia asked.

Ichigo cocked an eyebrow at her. "You came here without even knowing what it was about?"

* * *

Seemingly unnoticed by everyone a member of the TV crew carrying a set of lights crossed an unseen threshold, awakening the hospitals only remaining resident. He screamed and roared in anger at the sight of all these people. They were intruding on his hospital! They didn't belong here! It was his!

* * *

"BOHAHAHAHA!" Keigo shouted at the top of his lungs, crossing his arms in the Don Kanonji pose.

However he was the only one doing it. Mizuiro wasn't doing it. "Hey come on! Do the pose," he said, urging his friend on.

"Nah it was only fun because it bugged Ichigo. Without him there's no point in it," Mizuiro replied, playing his phone again. "Besides it's kind of stupid and embarrassing to do."

Keigo couldn't believe it. Doing the pose was part of the whole point of coming here. "Embarrassing? But you came here for the show."

His shorter friend shrugged his shoulders. "Not really. I just came because everyone was or at least I thought everyone else was coming." Mizuiro looked up from the phone and at the crews still setting up in front of the hospital. His attention seemed to be on a group of suits talking with the director and some other crew members. "Besides this really isn't my thing."

Keigo suppressed a groan. He was doing it again. Lying about what was really on in his mind, throwing up just another wall between him and everyone else. He couldn't help but wonder how Mizuiro could stand it. But he was his friend and it was his job to cheer him up! "Come on! I came here for some fun!" he cheerfully shouted, grabbing Mizuiro's arms. "We're gonna to the pose together!"

"No! Stop it! I'm not doing it!" Mizuiro exclaimed, fighting back from his attempts to get him into the pose.

The two of them struggled for a few moments before they stopped, both of them seeing the same sight. It was two older, hot girls and they were checking them out. "Hot chicks," Keigo whispered, a grin beginning to form. "And they're checking us out."

They had hit the jackpot! All they needed to do was play it right and they'd get to spend the night with two hotties! "Come on don't be shy. Try the pose," he said, lowering his tone a bit. But he wasn't talking to Mizuiro or even looking at him, his attention entirely on the girls. "It will be fun, I promise."

The girls giggled and blushed, definitely interested in them now.

"No, it's stupid," Mizuiro cried out, his face and his voice the picture perfect image of unabashed embarrassment. "Besides I can't do it right."

The instant those girls saw his face it was all over. But not in the way Keigo expected. Before he could react they raced up to them, puling Mizuiro from his grasp and dragged him back to where they had been.

"Do the pose with us!" the first girl said to Mizuiro.

"No I'm too embarrassed," the boy replied, still wearing the mask of embarrassment.

"Don't be embarrassed… Actually I'd love to see you even more embarrassed."

"But I can't even do it right."

"I'll show you! Here let me take you hands."

Keigo fell to his knees in despair. It wasn't fair! How did Mizuiro keep on getting all those hot chicks? What did Mizuiro have that he didn't? Well besides being loaded but it wasn't like they could tell he was rich, right? That was it wasn't it? Mizuiro must somehow project a 'look at me I'm rich' aura that girls couldn't resist. It wasn't fair! Why did Mizuiro get to be rich and a ladies' man?

"Hey," Chad grunted, startling the shorter teen.

"Gah! Don't sneak up on me Chad!" Keigo shot back, climbing back up to his knees.

"Sorry," the giant said, turning to the abandoned hospital. "Hey Keigo, do you hear that strange screaming?"

"Wh-what? No," he lied, trying not to sound nervous. "Don't try to scare me Chad."

The truth was he had heard the screams but that wasn't all. When he first arrived he had felt that same feeling days ago, on the day he met _her_. Despite the fog surrounding most of his memories of that day he remembered her. The feeling wasn't quite the same but it was similar. There was something in this hospital, something like that woman. And it scared him.

* * *

Tatsuki frowned as she heard the noise. When she and Orihime first arrived she had thought something felt off but hadn't been sure until now. There was a hollow or something like it in that hospital. Fortunately Ichigo was here. If it attacked he'd be there to stop it before it could serious hurt anyone.

Another scream echoed through the air but this time she caught Orihime flinching at the sound. "Orihime did you hear that?"

"Yes," Orihime quietly replied.

But that didn't make sense. Rukia had said that normal people couldn't see or hear hollows. Orihime had never seen ghosts before except for that one night when her brother return. …Wait had that night somehow affected her? But then…

"Orihime what do you remember about the night you apartment was trashed?"

Orihime hesitated for a moment. "Everything," she nervously answered.

* * *

For Ichigo the screaming meant that would have been a dull evening watching them shoot this lame ghost hunting show was over. There was a hollow nearby. He'd have to deal with it before it could harm anyone.

"Don't worry too much about it," Rukia said. "What you're not hearing is the roar of a hollow but a demi-hollow."

Memories of the being that had possessed Keigo filled his mind. "Another demi-hollow?"

As though to answer his question a figure emerged from the wall of the hospital. It looked like a man, mostly. Rusting chains coiled around his form, stretching back to the hospital. His arms were elongated far beyond what was normal and bits of white fragments were clinging to his face.

"See, it's a Jibaku spirit," Rukia commented.

"A what?"

"Sometimes after death a spirit becomes bound by the regrets they had life. When that happens their broken Chain of Fate binds them to the source of their regrets, whether it is a location or a person," she explained. "It makes them harder for us to find and perform konsō on."

Ichigo rubbed his chin, studying the screaming man. "So they're more likely than normal spirits to become hollows?"

Rukia nodded her head. "Yes but don't worry about this one. From the looks of things he's got months if not years before he becomes a hollow so as nothing breaks his chain. We'll come back tomorrow night to perform konsō so just enjoy the show."

At that moment the TV crews called for silence, starting the final count down before the cameras would start rolling. Silence descended on area save for the cries of the demi-hollow. The lights of the cameras turned on.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer said. "We're coming to live from Matsukra Hospital in Karakura Town! Every night people have reported hearing ghostly cries from this abandoned hospital! You know what that means!"

The crowd roared and cheered, calling out Don Kanonji's name.

"That's right! Without further ado I give you this Century's Premier Spiritualist, Don Kanonji!"

A helicopter appeared high overhead, a man leaping out from it. He parachuted down to the ground in front of the hospital and the cheering crowds. It was Don Kanonji, the star of the show and a man with the most bizarre wardrobe in the entire planet. "The spirits are always with you!" he called out his screaming fans, crossing his arms in that ridiculous pose. "BOHAHAHA!"

Much of the crowd parroted him, crossing their arms and laughing, Rukia included. Ichigo on the other hand had no interest in this nonsense and returned to the magazine he had brought with him. Kanonji went on the psyche up the crowd for a bit more with his over the top shouting and stupid catchphrases.

However when Kanonji turned and started to stare down the demi-hollow Ichigo took notice. So the guy wasn't a total fraud, he could actually see ghosts. Then Kanonji raised his silly looking staff and drove it into the chain plate on the demi-hollow's chest.

"What's that idiot doing?!" Ichigo shouted as the demi-hollow started howling in agony.

The plate was cracking up, fracturing more and more. He was going to turn that demi-hollow into a full-fledged hollow. Kanonji had to be stopped before that happened! Ichigo took off only for Rukia grab his arm, stopping him in his tracks. "Wait Ichigo!" she said, reaching into her pocket.

"But-"

"Give me your focus," Rukia ordered, pulling out what looked like a glue stick.

"But-"

"_Now!_"

Grumbling he reached into his pocket and pulled out the skull-faced coin, handing it to Rukia. She pressed the object against the coin, a flash of light erupting from it as they made contact. "This is an Intoku," she explained, handing it back to him. "Once I apply it to your focus it will enable you to become invisible to ordinary humans like Shinigami whenever you use your powers."

Ichigo lifted up the coin, inspecting it for a moment. "And you waited until now to do this?"

"Well I only got it a couple of days ago and I kind of forgot about it," Rukia huffed, annoyed at his tone.

The teenager shot her a questioning look. "Forgot?"

Rukia crossed her arms and turned away, a look of annoyance on her face. "Well the last couple of days have been crazy."

Ichigo shook his head. He didn't have any more time for this. Summoning his Shinigami powers Ichigo took off, brushing past people as he ran to the front. "Stop!" he shouted at Kanonji, jumping over the rope that kept the crowd from getting in the way. Thankfully whatever Rukia did was working, no one noticed him beyond feeling something brush past them.

But it didn't matter because it was too late. The demi-hollow's chain plate shattered and it let out one last scream before it exploded.

Ichigo grabbed Kanonji by the collar, startling the flamboyantly dressed man. "What did you just do?!"

"I set his soul free from its earthly bonds."

Far above the crowds gathered around Matsukra Hospital spirit particles began to gather, forming into bits of flesh and bone that started to come together, knitting together into a larger form. Toes and fingers formed, stretching upwards into limbs and then a torso. Once the body was complete a screaming human head erupted from the torso. But as he screamed a white substance poured from his face, covering his entire head before hardening into a mask.

The nearly born hollow howled into the night before it leaped off the roof, eager to feed on the crowd below.

Ichigo looked up as he still held onto Kanonji, staring at the hollow as it soared down from the roof. "What is that thing?" the confused spiritualist asked.

There was no time to explain. He pushed Kanonji behind him. "Get back Kanonji!" he ordered, reaching for his sword. "Run before it-"

Suddenly Kanonji grabbed him and threw him back, standing ready to fight. "No I cannot run away! You get back kid!" he shouted, holding his staff up in a defensive manner. "I am Don Kanonji, the Century's Premier Spiritualist! I shall not let you harm anyone evil spirit!"

The hollow slammed into the ground before them, tearing up dirt and rock. As the dust cleared the frog-like creature stared down at them and roared. To his surprise Kanonji stood like a rock in the face of a storm. Ichigo was little impressed he was braver than he actually looked. But they couldn't risk fighting out here with the crowd.

Ichigo grabbed Kanonji by his collar and took off, dragging him into the hospital. As expected the hollow followed, hungry for the largest spiritual pressure present. However its larger size slowed it down in the narrow hallways. Soon they lost sight of it.

"Stop kid! I can't run from that monster!" Kanonji hollered, struggling against his hold.

"There are more important things than your ego," Ichigo shot back.

"My ego? You think that's what this is about?" Kanonji uttered in disbelief. He managed to pull free from his grip, stopping him in the process. The older man seemed to stand even taller than he had before. Somehow there was fire in his sunglass covered eyes. "Tell me kid do you know the ratings of my show?"

"Ratings?"

"Twenty-five percent of Japan watches my show and most of them are children," Kanonji replied. "Every week they're glued to the TV, watching my actions after dinner with their families. Children watch my actions and their hearts leap. They see me stand up to evil spirits and they know what courage is! Do you understand kid? With them watching I can't run away from any evil spirit! I am a hero to them!"

Ichigo was at a loss for words. Kanonji genuinely saw himself as a hero even if he was about the biggest goofball in the world and a bit on the dumb side. Didn't he realize that fight out there would have endangered people?

But before he could say that the hollow burst through the floor beneath them. Ichigo drew his sword, raising it up to slice the beast… until the blade lodged itself into the ceiling. He swore realizing that had the corridors had been too small for the hollow to move around quickly it prevented him from properly swinging his swore. He needed to get out somewhere more open, where he could swing his sword without getting caught on something.

Grunting he started to pull on his zanpakutō, trying to free it from the ceiling. But the hollow didn't wait. It spewed out a gob of green slime, striking his hands and the hilt of his sword. The substance instantly hardened, imprisoning his hands. Snarling the hollow opened its mouth up, eager to chomp down on him. Pulling with everything he had, Ichigo tore his blade from the ceiling and rammed it into the chest, just under the left shoulder.

The hollow cried out in pain, thrashing around to dislodge him. But he couldn't exactly let go of his sword and he thrown around like a rag doll. Suddenly the hollow tore through the wall and to the outside but it didn't stop there, hopping up the side of the building to its roof. Somehow Ichigo remained clinging to the hollow through that whole trip.

Fortunately he managed to pry himself off just after they reached the roof, a bit dizzy from the trip but ready to properly fight it. With a roar Ichigo swung his sword down but the hollow was faster, sidestepping the blade before countering with a headbutt. The blow threw him back against the guard railing. Before he could move the hollow spewed out more of its mucus, ensnaring him in the hardening slime and pinning him to the railing. He fought against it but it was no good, he was stuck. The hollow snarled as it stood over him, drool trailing from his mouth. If he couldn't get free he was going to die! The hollow's mouth opened up and it lunged at him…

Suddenly Don Kanonji appeared, lodging his staff into its jaws. The staff started to crack but it held, for now at least.

"Kanonji!" Ichigo screamed. "Get out of here! That thing will tear you apart!"

The Medium pointed the palm of his hand at him, energy gathering in his hand. "Even if this body is torn apart, so long as I can serve as a shield to the children of tomorrow I shall carry no regrets for the life I've lived," Kanonji proclaimed. "Kanonji-Style: Super Ultimate Cannonball!"

The energy formed into a tiny golden ball and took off… at a snail's pace, floating towards. But the instant it made contact with the hardened slime it exploded in a bright blinding flash, eradicating all of the stuff from his body and freeing him from his prison.

However the elation of his freedom was short lived as Kanonji's staff snapped and the hollow slammed into him. Ichigo screamed out his name as the Medium soared across half the roof before crashing onto the floor. Crying out in anger Ichigo attacked, slicing through the hollow's knees. Without its legs the beast collapsed, easy prey for a final blow. His massive blade cut through its masked head, splitting it in two.

"Good work," Kanonji said, staggering to his side. The man was a little bruised and battered but otherwise fine.

Ichigo said nothing as the hollow's body began to dissolve, revealing for a brief moment the man he had been. But more importantly it revealed to Kanonji just what a hollow was and just what he had been doing to spirits. As he expected Kanonji was stunned by the sight of him. "But that's the…"

"That monster was a hollow, a soul who's had his Chain of Fate shattered and become a monster that hungers for other souls," Ichigo grimly explained.

Kanonji's knees gave out from under him, tears sliding out from underneath his sunglasses. "Oh no… But…but I thought that breaking those chains freed them, letting them pass on to the Afterlife," he uttered in horror and guilt. "What have I been doing all these years? I'm so ashamed of myself."

For a moment Ichigo said nothing. He had done bad things but they hadn't been intentional. Misguided as his actions were he had wanted to help people, to save them.

Suddenly a noise drew his attention, the cheering of the crowds below. They wanted their hero. Who was he to refuse them? "Hey quit your crying," he said. "Listen, they're all waiting for you."

Kanonji looked up, noticing the cheers. Slowly he stood up, moving towards the railing and looking down at the crowds below.

"Go on," Ichigo urged. "They're waiting for their hero."

Kanonji brushed the tears from his eyes. "Thanks kid," he quietly said.

He crossed his arms over his chest and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Mission accomplished! BOHAHAHAHA!"

* * *

A long chapter I know, my longest to date in fact. But the problem was that there wasn't enough for two separate chapters and I really didn't want the Kanonji stuff to run onto the debut of Uryu and all the fun that's gonna bring. I'm really excited for the next couple of chapters and the things I'm gonna do in them. The stuff I've done before now was largely just setting things up but the next chapters are the stuff I've been wanting to write for so long now. So I'm very psyched right now.

Until then everybody!

Oh and as always love it, hate it let me know with a review!


	8. Chapter 7

Yo everybody! Back with another chapter in just four days! That goes to show just how psyched up I've been for this chapter. Finally the others begin to come into their powers. I really hope you all enjoy this as much as I've enjoyed thinking it up and writing it down.

Oh and a special mention to Ultimate Black Ace who caught a mistake I made with Rukia's spell. I used the wrong number. It should have been Thirty-one not Thirty-three.

* * *

"Are you going to follow me all the way home Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"Busted," Ichigo grumbled, moving out onto the stairs. "How long have you known?"

"Since you and Orihime poked your head into the classroom," Uryū Ishida replied as he adjusted his glasses.

Yesterday afternoon while out with Rukia on a routine patrol for spirits and hollows when they had gotten an alert on a hollow. But when they reached its location it was gone, apparently killed before it could harm anyone. Neither of them knew how it could have happened until nearly an hour later when the one who killed the hollow confronted them. It was Uryū Ishida who proclaimed himself to be a Quincy though what exactly a Quincy was he couldn't say nor could Rukia. As it turned out Uryū was a classmate and the top of the class even though the whole sewing thing was a bit underwhelming. "Wow. You're pretty sharp," Ichigo complimented.

But Uryū didn't appreciate it. "You allow your spiritual energy to radiate with reckless abandon," he replied, his voice dripping with distain. "A psychic monkey could have sensed you."

"What?"

The dark haired teen rolled his eyes. "You can't even sense the energy of those right under your nose. In fact you didn't even notice me until I revealed myself to you."

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry about that. I've always been bad with names and faces."

"No I'm not talking about that," Uryū scoffed. "I sensed your unusual spiritual pressure the first day of class and I know the exact day you became a Shinigami. And I even know Rukia Kuchiki's true identity."

The Substitute Shinigami staggered back in disbelief. How could he have known all that? They barely knew each other.

Suddenly white threads erupted out from around Uryū, brushing and waving against him. Ichigo knew what they were, they were spirit ribbons but how could he summon them up?

"The reiraku, the manifestation of spiritual energy," Uryū explain in a condescending tone. "A good Shinigami can see them right away and…"

One instant Uryū was several feet from him the next he was right in front of him, reaching out past his shoulder. He pulled his hand back revealing one of his crimson ribbons. "…A skilled one can reach out and touch them."

With that he turned and started to walk away leaving Ichigo dumbstruck. "I am a Quincy. I have the power to kill hollows," Uryū coldly said, glancing back at him. "Would you like to play a game Kurosaki? A duel to see who is superior, a Quincy or a Shinigami."

He absolutely hated that arrogance. People like that just needed to be taken down a peg or two. Whatever his grudge was against Shinigami was he didn't know and he didn't care but if he wanted a duel he was more than willing to entertain him. "That sounds fine to me," Ichigo replied. "I'll clean the floor with you Uryū."

Uryū smirked, adjusting his glasses again the small cross hanging from his arm jingling as he moved. "And I'll show you just how unnecessary the Shinigami are."

* * *

Keigo absently whistled to himself as he walked home. He never thought he would have been happy about a dull and completely normal Monday but after Friday and Saturday he was more than willing to be bored than exposed to that weirdness. Sure there had been times when he had been bored with how mundane things could be. But ghostly howls, freaky moving shadows, the agonized spirit of a murder victim, Ichigo leaping into a third floor window, Arisawa's Flaming Death Punch all of it was just too much!

At least today everything was normal well except for Ichigo stalking Uryū the Nerd King Ishida throughout the day. Though that wasn't really much of anything compared to what had happened before. Maybe Ishida had pissed off Ichigo during the weekend and he was looking for some payback. A nerd like Ishida wasn't normally the kind of guy to pick fights with guys like Ichigo. Hell the guy was a pencil compared to Ichigo.

But whatever it was the day was still going to end completely normal and things were going to continue being normal.

…It had to.

* * *

Mizuiro Kojima was many things but he wasn't a fool despite playing one from time to time. He had known for some time that something was off with Ichigo, something involving the new girl Rukia Kuchiki. However what that something was he could not say.

The signs were there if someone looked for them. First was Ichigo's attendance as of late. Ichigo rarely showed up late for class and _never_ cut class but in the last couple of weeks he had regularly cut classes and showed up late a few times. Second was his relationship with Rukia Kuchiki. From her first day here Ichigo seemed to be familiar with her despite claiming to have never met her. And they were frequently together outside of class, prompting notions that they were together. Indeed he had initially thought that they had attended Mashiba together and had feelings for one another but Chad didn't know her all and vice versa. How could Ichigo have had two friends from the same school who didn't know each other? Simply put it was impossible for him to. So then where had they met before?

The third and most unusual sign was something Mizuiro found himself struggling to explain, strange instances that somehow seemed to be connected to Ichigo and Rukia. Well there were really two that he found himself unable to explain away. The first had been that accident that he and Chad were in a short while ago. It wasn't the accident but how the two of them ended up there. The last solid memory he had before the accident was having lunch with Ichigo and Rukia on the roof. How and why he ended up blocks away from school with Chad just before the accident didn't make sense. There was no reason for them to be there at that time yet it happened.

The second happened just last Friday when Ichigo leaped up to the third floor and started acting like… well like Keigo. He knew from the start that it wasn't Ichigo. Setting aside the sheer impossibility of jumping from the ground to a window on the third floor there was no way that Ichigo would ever act like that. Despite his fearlessness when it came to charging gangs by himself he was rather timid when it came to women. Then there was the shadowy blur that entered the room and left with Tatsuki and Rukia after 'Ichigo' fled. And finally there was the unusual fact now no one else seemed to remember that incident at all. Well expect perhaps those involved but he hadn't had a chance to ask them yet.

Suddenly Mizuiro stopped, glancing up from his phone staring up at the sky as an odd feeling sent a shudder down his spine. For better or worse somehow he knew that something was about to change.

* * *

Pulling the sweat covered towel from her face Tatsuki let out a deep, heavy breath. She had hoped that today's practice would have taken her mind off everything that had happened recently. It didn't. Everything was changing and she found herself struggling to deal with it all. Every time she thought she was getting a handle on things some new popped up and threw a wrench into the works.

After everything had settled down with the chaos of Friday she discovers Saturday night that Orihime had actually started to remember everything that terrible night. Not only that but she had seen Ichigo's spirit during that whole incident with Kon and worse, during Don Kanonji's show.

After the show she had asked about Ichigo, Rukia and her. She had explained some of it but there was still a lot of it she still wasn't sure about and just as much she wasn't comfortable talking about. But she did explain the basics of spirits, hollows and Shinigami to her, that Ichigo was tasked with protecting the people of Karakura. When it came to what she was however Tatsuki was tight lipped. They hadn't spoken since that night again that night and she hoped that Orihime didn't approach Ichigo and Rukia about this.

Then as if things couldn't get any crazier when she approached Ichigo this morning he revealed that he and Rukia ran into a guy that knew about them and had hollow-killing powers of his own. To make matters worse he apparently didn't like Shinigami. Unfortunately Ichigo like the idiot he was had completely forgotten said person's name. It wasn't until later with some help from Orihime that he learned their name, Uryū Ishida who happened to be ranked first in their class. Not only that he was in their freaking class! Seriously Ichigo didn't recognize a guy who had been in their room the entire year!

"Tatsuki, can I talk to you about something?" Orihime said, drawing her from her thoughts.

Orihime looked concerned though what she was worried about she couldn't say. "Sure what do you-"

Tatsuki froze, a sudden pressure flaring brightly nearby. Seconds later there was a bonechilling howl that was joined by the shattering of glass. Tatsuki knew that feeling from before. It was a hollow! She turned to Orihime, putting her hands on her shoulders. "Orihime I need you to get out of here right now," she said. "Head home and stay there. It's not safe here right now."

"But-"

Tatsuki let go of her friend, gently pushing, urging her to go. "Go! Get out of here!"

* * *

"What have you done?!" Ichigo roared in outrage, grabbing Uryū by the collar. "Cancel out that bait!"

"Cancel it out? It's now spreading on the wind," the teen coldly replied. "No one can stop it now."

Ichigo was at a loss for words. How…how could he put the _entire_ city in danger just for the sake of some stupid grudge?! Peoples' lives were at risk! "If you wanted to prove your superior why are you dragging the entire town into this?!"

"As I said I'm going to show you show just how unnecessary Shinigami are," Uryū arrogantly proclaimed. "I will not allow the hollows to harm a single soul."

Distant roars echoed through the air, the hollows were coming. Ichigo looked up, watching them beginning to emerge from cracks in the sky. Some were already falling or flying down to the ground as more appeared. "If you're worry about the people I suggest you let go of me," the Quincy continued. "At the moment neither of us can stop them."

Ichigo pushed him back. "This isn't over Uryū," he spat before running off.

"A bit of friendly advice Kurosaki," Uryū called out. "Hollows will always go after those with higher than normal spiritual pressure!"

Dread filled Ichigo as his mind instantly when to those who could see ghosts, Karin and Tatsuki. Twice before his sisters had been attacked by hollows and would have been killed had he not been there. But school was out and they were likely on their way home if not there already. If they were home or close to it they'd be safe, if not… He didn't want to think about that. Tatsuki on the other hand had proven that she could defend herself at least a bit. However there was no doubt that she had the higher spiritual pressure so more of them would likely go after her. Plus she was still at school with other people. Worse what if Tatsuki transformed again like she did in Orihime's apartment? Everyone still at Karakura High was in danger! But at the same time so were his sisters.

That's when the terrible realization hit him. He couldn't be in two places at once; he had to make a choice. But how could he? How could he chose between his sisters and his classmates?

* * *

Mizuiro dove into an alley, ducking behind a dumpster as he started dialing his phone. He wasn't dialing police or anything like that. They couldn't help with what was stalking him. As if on cue the giant shadowy form slithered into the entrance of the alleyway. While he couldn't exactly see what this thing was he could out the basic shape of it. It was large and its body was serpentine in shape with several small limbs emerging just before its head. And it was stalking him. He pushed the call button, praying that Ichigo's phone was on.

But there was no dialing, no ringing only loud static. The shadowy creature let out a snarling hiss, sliding deeper into the alley. Panic filled him as he looked down at his phone, praying for something, anything. Static covered the phone's screen and none of the buttons worked.

Suddenly the dumpster he was hiding behind rose up from the ground, blurred tendrils coiled around. Mizuiro took off, running for the other end of the alley. The creature crushed the dumpster like a tin can before tossing it further down the alley, blocking his path. He turned back, watching the creature slowly slither towards him. Though he couldn't see its eyes, if it had any he knew it was staring at him, leering at him

This was it. He was going to die. This… this thing was going to rip him apart and there was nothing he could do.

Mizuiro started to laugh. It was just so absurd. He was going to be killed by a semi-visible _monster_, a thing of fantasy and make-believe! They didn't _exist_! Yet he was torn apart by one! But somehow things were make more sense than they had in a while. It was like the natural laws of the world, the universe, reality or whatever had been slowly crumbling and only now had he truly realized it. "Reality is a lie," he uttered as the monster towered over him.

Suddenly a blinding light erupted from his phone's screen. The monster staggered back just as unsure about what was happening as he was. Instinct told him to drop the phone but the idea never crossed his mind. In fact he couldn't take his eyes off his phone and the light, until it happened.

Pain lanced through his eyes. His eyes… his eyes were burning! They were on fire! Mizuiro's legs gave out and he fell to the ground, his free hand clutching his shut eyes. Tears started to well up in his eyes. He wanted to keep his eyes shut but it was like there was this growing pressure in his eyes. It felt like if he didn't open them soon they'd exploded in their sockets. He opened his eyes and gasped at what he saw.

The entire world had changed… no his view of the world had changed. Everything appeared to be formed of interwoven strands of… of well energy for a lack of a better word. The pavement and walls were made of thick, grey, unmoving strands while the threads of his skin—no his body were smaller, brighter and seemed to sway a bit. His phone's strands were glowing white and vibrating, the ends of which were interwoven his hand's. He looked up at the monster and saw it, truly saw it. His initial impressions of the creature's form have been right. It was a giant serpent with a rigid, angular head resting on a small limbless torso from which half a dozen tendrils emerged. The threads of its body were flowed wildly around what he could describe as void, a spinning pit at its center.

Roaring the monster reared up, its tendrils moving back to strike. But Mizuiro was already acting, pressing buttons on his phone. He didn't know why he was pressing or even how he knew to do that in this sequence but it felt right. The monster's tentacles shot out but just before they could reach him his thumb hit 'Call'. There was a flash of light and the tentacles struck... passing straight through his body without harming him in the slightest. The worm-like beast howled, slashing its tendrils wildly at him in fury. But not a single blow touched him instead they passed through him, tearing up the pavement around him. While he couldn't see himself normally Mizuiro could see pale blue threads intertwining with the threads of his body and together they seemed to flicker, shining bright one moment and fading to near nothingness the next. Whatever it meant it was clear that the monster couldn't touch him.

But even if he was currently impervious to harm there was no guarantee that he would stay that way and this monster didn't look like the kind to give up quickly. He'd need away to hurt them. Once again his thumb acted on its own, instinctively pressing buttons on his phone as he rose up.

He watched as black strands appeared above his hand, spinning and weaving together into a growing, spinning sphere. In a second that seemed much longer the soccer ball sized was complete, hovering just above palm. It was then that he realized that blue threads that had turned his body intangible had disappeared from his threads. The monster could hurt him again. But it didn't matter, not with this orb. He couldn't even begin to guess at what it was or what it was made of but he knew it was destructive. Just what he needed right now.

Mizuiro pulled his hand back, the sphere staying with his hand. The monster lunged forward, its maw opening wide while its tendrils flailed wildly around it. He was never much of a pitcher but the beast was giving him a perfect target and he threw the energy ball with everything he had. The sphere struck its lower jaw, tearing through it like a stone through paper leaving a second perfectly round hole through its body, its head hanging by a pair of threads.

The beast flew backwards from the impact, the strands of its being rapidly unraveling and disintegrating before his eyes. Briefly his eyes caught sight of a smaller human form within the crumbling monster but it too faded. But not all of the strands disappeared. Some rose up gathering around something looked like a moth or a butterfly that flew off into the sky.

But he had little time to celebrate, a sudden rush of fatigue consuming him. Mizuiro fell to his knees, the threads disappearing from his sight the normal world returning to him. Beads of sweat trailed down his face as he panted for breath. His mind was racing, trying to process everything that had just happened but his body was worn out, on the verge of collapsing altogether. The way he had seen the world was unlike he had ever experienced before and a part of him wanted to continue seeing that bright, that vibrantly, that _alive_.

His body gave out and he fell to the ground, consciousness fading. The last thing Mizuiro heard before he passed out was the sound of wooden sandals clapping on pavement.

* * *

Tatsuki cursed as she ran across the school grounds. She had been wrong. There wasn't one hollow there was two. Both were chasing after her, no doubt eager to devour her soul. But at least she was keeping them from attacking anyone else.

"**Run, run little girl**," a large humanoid mantis-like hollow taunted.

"**Yes run…**" the other, a bloated three horned bull wheezed. "**Run and scream…**"

'_Not gonna scream for you creeps,'_ Tatsuki thought, a plan already forming in her mind. She couldn't out run them for much longer. Eventually she was going to get tired and then they'd get her. That energy thing she had discovered on Friday was about her only option. But she could only use it two, maybe three times before it would wear her out too much to defend herself. But if she could surprise them it'd give her an opening to slay one of them, she hoped.

Tatsuki rounded the corner of a school building, pressing her body against the other side of the corner. She raised her fist against her chest, summoning up that energy again. Somehow it felt wrong, like doing a kata incorrectly and knowing it but not knowing how to do it correctly. But it was all she had.

The hollows rounded the corner unaware that she was there, giving her an opening. Striking with everything she had Tatsuki drove her first into the left leg of the mantis hollow. It howled in pain and surprise, staggering down to one knee. But the punch hadn't caused much damage beyond some burns. "**Little girl has claws,**" the hollow snarled, already getting back up.

Tatsuki swore as the mantis swung its blade like scythe claw at her, barely managing to roll out of the way. The hollow continued its attacks, clawing and slashing at her. But somehow Tatsuki just managed to stay out of its reach, dodging, rolling and weaving as she got back up to her feet. The mantis hollow let out a shrill laughter as she scrambled from it. But that didn't matter right now because the real attack she had against them didn't cause enough for the energy she was using up. Her only option now was to run, keeping those monsters away from everyone else and hope that she can find Ichigo soon.

"TATSUKI!" a voice shouted out, a voice she knew very well.

She turned her head in dread, already knowing who it was but needing to see it for herself. It was Orihime standing by the front gates. She hadn't left! She had stayed! "Orihime get out of here! Run!" Tatsuki screamed.

Both hollows turned to Orihime, leering at her in their hunger. "**Pretty girl… Tasty girl…**" the bull rasped.

With that hollow took off, racing for Orihime. Tatsuki continued to scream at her friend but Orihime was frozen in fear at sight of the charging hollow. Not even hesitating for instant she took off after the hollow. She was fast but she wasn't a track star like Ryō. Horror and panic filled her heart as she the terrible realization dawned on her. _'I'm not going to make it! Orihime's going to be trampled!'_

No! She wasn't going to let her friend be hurt much less killed by this monster. Tatsuki roared in determination, driving her legs faster. Her muscles screamed, her lungs burned and yet a part of her never felt so alive. She sped up as the world seemed to slow down.

At that moment Tatsuki knew she was going to save Orihime. She caught up with hollow and then passed it, reaching her friend first. Wrapping an arm around Orihime Tatsuki jumped, pulling them both out of the hollow's path at the last possible instant. They rolled across the grass as the hollow skidded to a stop on the street.

"You alright Orihime?" Tatsuki asked, her eyes on the hollow.

"Your eyes," Orihime uttered. "They're yellow."

"What?" she replied, staggering back from her friend. At that moment she realized that some changes had befallen her. She couldn't see her own eyes but she could feel that her canines had elongated and her fingernails had grown into sharp claws. As she stared at her hands the bull hollow turned around, scraping a hoof across the pavement drawing her attention.

Tatsuki rose back up to her feet, staring down the hollow. She could feel power coursing through her veins. Now she could take them, now she could slay them. "Stay back Orihime. I'm not going to let them hurt you or anyone else."

The bull took off, eager to gore her on its horn but she took off too. Both raced with reckless abandon towards the other. As they neared Tatsuki cocked her fist back and ducked under its long horn, thrusting her fist into its mask. Her last punch had barely hurt the other hollow but this one stopped the hollow, flipping it backwards. But the hollow didn't stay down for long, rolling and stumbling back onto its hoofed feet. "**Annoying girl… Die!**" it roared, thrusting its horns forward.

Tatsuki grabbed onto two of them, bending her neck to the side to avoid the third. They struggled and fought. The hollow was strong but now she was just as strong. Both pushed harder and harder seeking to overpower the other. Her muscles strained, their feet tearing grooves in the ground. But neither could overpower the other.

The hollow let out a wet wheezing snarl, hitting her with its spit. Tatsuki suppressed the urge to brush it off. Instead her knee rocketed into its masked face. That was all she needed. With the hollow knocked off balance Tatsuki slammed its head down into the ground. She followed up by bringing her arm down. But it wasn't in a fist. Her hand was open, energy radiating from fingertips leaving four trails in the air. They sliced through the hollow's head and into its body. The bull collapsed, its body rapidly disintegrating.

Tatsuki raised her clawed hand up to her face. _That_ was how that energy worked. She needed these claws to properly use it. Claws… That was strange and a bit unsettling to see them. Ever since that night she had thought frequently about her transformation into the Wolf and she had feared it. She hadn't wanted to become anything remotely close to that beast. But…but she could get use to this. She never felt so strong, so fast, so invigorated before. Hell right now she felt like she could arm wrestle both Ichigo and Sado and beat them both.

"Tatsuki," Orihime called out, a look of concern in her eyes.

She was probably just as worried about her losing control like that night too. "Don't worry Orihime," Tatsuki said, giving her a smile. "I'm still-"

A long claw slashed through her back, filling her world with agony. Tatsuki started to turn around but the mantis hollow was faster slicing through her again. Blood gashed out of her chest and her knees buckled. The world seemed to slow to a crawl, Orihime's voice distantly ringing in her ears as the hollow raised its claws. She had screwed up and now they were both going to die…

* * *

"Hurry up Karin!" Yuzu called out. "I need to get home so I can start making dinner!"

"Yeah we need to get going," Karin whispered to herself, turning away from the sky. She had seen the black cracks opening up, monsters emerging from them before closing again. Something bad was happening and they needed to get home, now. Goatface may be the biggest goofball in the world but she had seen him fight. He could deal with these monsters.

She started walking faster when something slammed into the street maybe a dozen feet away, throwing up dust and broken concrete. The force of the impact knocked Yuzu off her feet and would have done the same to her had she been closer. Karin rushed to her sister's side, offering her a hand up. "Are you alright Yuzu?"

Her twin nodded as she helped her up. "Yeah, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"**RWAAAAAAAAR!**"

Karin froze watching a giant shape emerge from the dust and smoke. It was big and kind of like a gorilla with short stubby legs and big long arms. On its head was a strange looking mask with large puffed up cheeks, a big double chin and what looked like a mane coming out from behind its face. At the center of its chest was a reason-defying round hole. It was a monster, just like the one that nearly killed them in the cemetery. "Run," she quietly uttered, unable to take her eyes off the monster.

But Yuzu couldn't see it. She didn't understand the danger. "What?"

"Run!" Karin screamed, pulling her sister and running from the monster.

But as they ran Karin heard and felt heavy footsteps striking the ground behind them. She didn't need to look back to know that monster chasing after them. But her sister on the other hand… "Karin! What's going on?! Why are we running?!" she exclaimed.

"A monster," Karin replied. "Keep running."

Up a head a pair of boys—twins stepped on to the street turning towards them. Just like Yuzu they couldn't see the danger that was approaching. "Run! Get out of here!" she yelled at them, hoping to scare them off.

But they didn't turn and run or even show any surprise. Instead they took a step forward as the monster howled. "Well this is a rarity," the first brother wearing a red cap said. "When was the last time that a meal came running to us?"

"I can't remember," the other with a white bandana on his head replied. "But it is a bit noisy."

"Yes and it's getting noisier."

"Then we better make this quick."

Karin didn't know what they were talking about and she didn't want to know. If they weren't going to run then so be it. The monster was coming and they couldn't stay. As if it couldn't get any stranger both boy unclipped water bottles clipped to their belts and unscrewed the caps, pouring the water on the pavement.

"Zeige Dich Guhl!"

"Zeige Dich Günther!"

As one the two threw the caps into the water. Karin and Yuzu stopped in their tracks, watching as the water defied gravity, rising up into a pair of watery eyestalks. Tendrils of water shot out, racing forward. Both sisters screamed, ducking down to their hands and knees in a desperate attempt to avoid them.

But the water never hit them, soaring over their heads and striking the monster behind them. Karin glanced back and saw the monster impaled on the two tendrils while Yuzu was curled up in a whimpering ball. It roared and flailed against the water but while it did sway a bit with its movements the water didn't let go. Then something started to flow into the water, a glowing red liquid. Was it the monster's blood? Whatever it was the sight of it drove the monster to struggle harder, roaring as it took several steps forward.

"A meal shouldn't talk," the bandana wearing boy said.

Suddenly a third water tendril shot out spearing the monster in eye. But then another speared it follow by another and another. Half a dozen tendrils were impaling it and draining more of the glowing substance. The monster's struggles grew slower and weaker, it was slowly dying. Then the last of the liquid left its body and its body slumped down. The water withdrew with its bounty and the monster collapsed, crumbling way as it hit the ground.

Karin turned back to the boys and their water creatures, watching them consume the red substance from the water. "What are you?" she uttered.

The boy with the red cap stopped drinking and looked down at her. "You wouldn't believe us if we told you."

"Are you like Shinigami?"

The moment she said 'Shinigami' the other brother stopped, both of them staring at her. "Shinigami? And just what do you know about Shinigami?"

"I know they fight monsters," Karin replied.

Both chuckled at her words. "Yes they fight monsters, just like us."

Suddenly two more monsters crashed down, one on the house besides them and the other on a parked car nearby. Both of them roared at the group, scaring her while the boys remained completely unphased.

"It looks like today is going to be a busy day after all."

* * *

Originally I was going to do Uryu's first confrontation with Ichigo and Rukia but as I started writing it I felt that it was just too much on Ichigo when I wanted this chapter and the next to focus on other characters. Plus if I did that scene I would have had to do some lesser scenes with Ichigo discovering what he could about Uryu. So I decided to skip past it rather than waste half this chapter on things that aren't all that relevant and could be mentioned by others.

Keigo and Mizuiro were without a doubt the most fun write in this chapter. There was just something enjoyable about writing them as more skeptical individuals despite seeing or knowing bits of what's really going on. Mizuiro's dull grey world of what he firmly believes is real shattering the face of the truth colorful world was to date the most enjoyable part of this story I've written. In fact that was the first part of this chapter I wrote.

I will say though that the biggest surprise of this was the scene with Karin, Yuzu, Ban and Ho was more recent change to things. I don't know why but I've grown fond of Ban and Ho. Originally I was only going to have them in that first scene with Ichigo and then their doll appearing to kill the hollow before playing a serious supporting role in the Bount Arc but I just started writing them in more. I don't know why but it just felt right doing it like this. As to why I had them save Karin and Yuzu well that's a bit more complicated. While I'm not going have get involved in any of the fighting and action I do have a number of ideas about having them play a bit of a role in later so that's why I've been leaving these vague enough threads that when I finally have the concrete idea of what I'm going to do with them it won't be restricted by things.

Anyway as always love it, hate it, review it.


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